Grilled Eggplant – Rosa Bianca Eggplant Heirloom Variety
This grilled rosa bianca eggplant post was one of our first recipe posts back in 2008. The Rosa Bianca is one of our favorite varieties of eggplant and to cook them up on the grill is a joy of summer. It’s fun to see how our photography and garden has changed over the years! It’s an oldie but goodie.
Easy Grilled Eggplant Recipe
Our eggplants are showing signs of surrendering to Fall’s arrival. They’re becoming yellow, tougher and seedy. The season is telling us that it’s time to cook what eggplants are still tender and to collect the seeds from the tougher ones. Our Bianca Rosa variety of eggplants are one of our favorites to grow because they are sweet, fleshy and less bitter than most other varieties. The minimal amount of seeds make the Bianca Rosa variety perfect for grilling, baking and for just about anything that requires eggplant.
Amazing Smoky Flavor
One of our favorite ways to prepare eggplant is to grill it. The smokey flavor from the grill makes the slightly crisp outer surface encasing the creamy white interior flesh absolutely delectable. Often times our easy grilled eggplant recipe has been intended as a component of another dish, but it somehow never makes it there. We keep snacking on the slices even while they are still almost too hot to hold.
Can you use other eggplants?
Yes, you can! You can easily adapt this recipe with other types of eggplants. Black beauty, Asian eggplant and Japanese eggplants are fantastic grilled. You’ll still get the fantastic smoky flavor. If you do decide to use black beauty, people have said that you have to salt them first to remove the astringency. We usually don’t salt them and the results are still delicious.
Rosa Bianca eggplant from the garden
Cut, drizzle with oil and grill
How do you prepare your eggplant? Please share and link away so we can all learn! Here’s more of our vegetable recipes and more we found on the internet.
Grilled Eggplant Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound Eggplant
- Sea Salt or Kosher Salt , as needed
- 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil , as needed
- Fresh Cracked Black Pepper , to taste
Instructions
How to grill eggplant:
- Cut the eggplant either into lengthwise halves, or into 1/3-1/2" slices, depending on what you intend to use the eggplant for.
- (Next two steps are unnecessary if using more less bitter varieties of eggplant, such as Bianca Rosa, Japanese Eggplant, or Chinese Eggplant).If you are using an Italian Eggplant or similar variety, sprinkle the slices with salt, and all to sit for 45 min - 1 hr.
- Rinse off eggplant, and pat dry.
Light grill and set up for direct heat cooking, about medium heat.
- Lightly coat both sides of the eggplant with olive oil. Season with a touch of sea salt and fresh cracked pepper.
- (For Halves) - Place on grill, cut side down. Cook until the body of the eggplant gives easily when gently pressed.
- (For Slices) - Place on grill and cook until it is slightly charred. Flip and repeat. The interior texture should be soft and fairly translucent with a slightly charred outside. Tasty.
I don’t know how I always forget about egg plant. I’ve used it so infrequently. I really need to address it. I love the photos–especially that first one! The water looks surreal
We love eggplants. Usually it’s just as you do, but sometimes I grill then toss the eggplants in a dressing of lemon, cumin, chile and olive oil. Bliss.
Who knew that eggplant could be so pretty?
Those are some steamy, sexy eggplant shower shots!
My eggplant plants were devoured by flea beetles and Colorado potato beetles early in the season, so no homegrown ones here. But, I like to roast whole eggplants – in the oven, or even better, over the dying embers of a charcoal fire after we’ve grilled something. Then you have the makings of baba ganoush or baingan bharta.
Wow – amazing photos again. Great exposure on the eggplant washing shots. They’re such a lovely combination of white and purple.
Alas, I can no longer eat eggplant (that and kiwi are the only foods I’m allergic to). But my dad used to make awesome deep-fried eggplant, cut like fat french fries. He rarely cooked, so it was always special when he made it.
Lovely variety! I am always surprised at the number of seeds in eggplants in the US versus Europe..one of those happenings that make me happy to be experiencing all sorts of different things…Yep, philosophy over eggplants…I obviously need sleep of a Club Med vacay (lucky you!!)
Don’t forget ratatouille!!! Yum yum 🙂
Great photos! We LOVE eggplant .. especially grilled. I just got a stove top grill pan which really grills them up nicely with the same smokey flavors… YUM!!!!!
That eggplant is so pretty!
I’ve never had grilled eggplant any way but plain so I need to try out some of these other ways to use it. But plain is good, especially with a little squeeze of lemon to top it off.
Those eggplants are so nice. I love how the pictures turned out.
Oh, these are stunning pictures of very attractive vegetables. I do enjoy grilled eggplant. Very filling.
One of the earliest recollections I have of grilling eggplant was watching a TV Chef (from Oregon– guess who!) marinate them in balsamic vinegar and then grilling them to be used as the “meat” in a sandwich. I’ve always been intrigued by grilled eggplant since. I think I’d be a fan of your non-bitter, sweet eggplant– too bad we rarely get non-purple varieties here (though we get the Asian varieties a lot).
Love the photos! We grilled eggplant a lot this summer. Eggplant season is over here, but I’ll enjoy it vicariously through you two. 🙂
;0) I don’t have a Bianca Rosa just an ordinary purple one but that’s my dinner tonight!
I am a huge fan of grilled eggplant. It’s the last of my garden crop to still be holding on here in RI. One of my favorite sandwiches is grilled eggplant, with carmalized onions and gooey provolone on ciabatta. So good! I’m jealous that your garden is still producing so much (but I love Fall in New England so it’s all good!).