Crispy eggplant is overrated. Here's how to appreciate its softer side

I love the crunchy delight of flash-fried eggplant slices stuffed into a pita with pickled vegetables and tahini, or crisp breaded slabs layered into a classic parm. But dishes that celebrate the softer side of eggplant have given me a deeper appreciation of its mellow flavors: subtly sweet and vegetal, with a mushroom-like undertone that adapts well to aromatic spices. And while I don't mind flouring and frying thin sheets of eggplant to get that crackly texture, there's a satisfaction that comes from simply letting it steam in its own juices, sometimes with oil or coconut milk. I like to think of it as Eggplant Unplugged.

My admiration for eggplant's silkier qualities began at New York pizzeria Lil' Frankie's, where a blistering-hot pizza oven is used to roast whole eggplant, which is split open tableside, drizzled with peppery extra-virgin olive oil and dusted with coarse salt. The steaming interior, creamy soft with a mildly earthy flavor, practically melts like butter when spread across fresh bread.

The dish originated with the restaurant opening in 2002, when Lil' Frankie's owner Frank Prisinzano finally got a wood-burning pizza oven to test his version of the smoky eggplant dishes he'd been seeing at other restaurants but found too dry. So the first thing that went into the oven wasn't actually pizza - it was a large globe eggplant.

Nearly 25 years later, Lil' Frankie's goes through three cases of eggplant every day, and its roasted eggplant got me thinking about how to get that same luscious texture - without the 900-degree oven. Here's how you can, too.

Choose fresh eggplant for the best result.The most common types of eggplant, whether the large American globe, slender Japanese, lavender-striped Fairy Tale or small green Thai, can be prepared to showcase their soft interiors, but freshness is key. Lisa Specca, whose family grows eggplant on a pick-your-own farm in Bordentown, New Jersey, advises looking for eggplant that is firm to the touch and has a good heft when you pick it up, adding, "It should have a glossy, smooth skin and a fresh green stem," signaling that the eggplant is ripe, fresh and well hydrated. Store at room temperature and use within a couple of days.

To salt or not to salt. Your grandmother may have sworn by salting sliced eggplant to remove bitterness before cooking, but modern hybrids are less bitter. Believing that pre-salting removes much of the eggplant's water content, Prisinzano prefers to skip it. "That water has flavor and nutrients," he says, not to mention that it creates steam during cooking that can give eggplant a silky, custard-like texture. Because eggplant seeds can contain bitter alkaloids, particularly in an older or overripe fruit, you can opt for Asian varieties, with naturally fewer seeds, or remove some of the seeds from the globe varieties. Eggplants with thinner skin, such as Sicilian or Asian, can have a slightly sweeter flavor.

Use the right eggplant for the recipe. In the same way that you'd opt for meaty Roma tomatoes for a rich passata and juicy cherry tomatoes for a fresh summer salad, the right eggplant variety makes all the difference. Slim Chinese eggplant holds its shape, providing a sturdy base for the Filipino eggplant omelet known as tortang talong, in which a whole eggplant is roasted, peeled, then lightly mashed into beaten egg, pan-fried and served over rice with banana ketchup. Round Sicilian eggplant can be sliced and caramelized in olive oil, then tossed with cooked tomatoes and fresh basil for Pasta alla Norma, while small Thai eggplants can be quartered and cooked in a green curry coconut milk broth until tender. And a big globe eggplant has plenty of possibilities beyond parmigiana, such as broiling or shallow-frying cubes to add to a bread salad.

Try a little tenderness - and cook thoroughly. Eggplant's naturally spongy interior soaks up flavors and oil as steam builds up inside the cell walls during cooking, creating a melt-in-the-mouth texture. Undercooking can lead to stringy, gray eggplant. Whether roasting, frying, steaming or grilling, be sure to test the eggplant for doneness, near the skin as well as in the center, with a skewer or toothpick - it should slide in as easily as if you were piercing a stick of softened butter.      

• Braising, steaming and stir-frying: Whether who le, cubed or sliced, eggplant takes well to all these cooking methods. For braised eggplant, quickly sear cubes in a hot pan, then slow-cook or simmer in broth, soy sauce, and citrus or vinegar. Or try a variation of the French poêle, or butter-braising, method, allowing slices to cook slowly in olive oil, finishing with a golden exterior and creamy center. Slender Asian eggplant becomes especially velvety when steamed, then served with a gingery black vinegar sauce, while rounds of eggplant can be browned in the wok to lend heft to a chicken stir-fry.      

• Pan-roasting, broiling and grilling: Eggplant loves to be charred, the smoky flavors contrasting with its natural sweetness, whether served whole, sliced or turned into dips, such as Greek Eggplant Dip (Melitzanosalata). When grilling, coat ¼-inch slices with oil, grill for 4 minutes on each side, then remove and cover loosely so the flesh steams lightly to a tender finish. If roasting or grilling a whole eggplant, the cook time, anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour, can vary widely depending on the density of the eggplant and temperature. And don't forget to poke a few holes into that whole eggplant before roasting so the eggplant doesn't explode.      

• Baking: Dispense with the breading and frying to make an updated eggplant parm by oven-roasting thin slices of eggplant before layering with tomato sauce and cheese and baking. (Broiling works here, too.) Specca favors an easy baked eggplant recipe from the 1984 cookbook "Cooking from an Italian Garden" by Paola Scaravelli and Jon Cohen, in which small Sicilian eggplants are halved, crosshatched, rubbed with garlic and lightly brushed with tomato sauce - a fresh take on tradition, giving eggplant its well-deserved, and softer, close-up.

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Pan-Roasted Eggplant

SERVINGS: Servings:8-12 (makes about 6 wheels)

TOTAL TIME: 30 mins

STORAGE: Refrigerate for up to 3 days; bring back to room temperature before serving.

While many recipes fixate on the best way to achieve crispy eggplant, this recipe bypasses the effort entirely by turning the vegetable into silken rounds cooked on the stovetop. The technique of pan-roasting thick wheels of eggplant is based on the French practice of poêle, or butter-basting, as suggested by chef Frank Prisinzano of New York pizzeria Lil' Frankie's, which serves a creamy whole roasted eggplant appetizer that also helped inspire this dish. Don't be afraid of the amount of olive oil used in this recipe (see Notes). As the eggplant absorbs it, the exterior caramelizes and the interior softens, creating a rich plant-based addition to a cheese or charcuterie platter that celebrates eggplant's mellow, earthy flavor.

INGREDIENTS
• 1 medium globe eggplant (about 1 pound and 8 inches long)
• 3/4 cup olive oil, divided, plus more as needed
• Flaky sea salt, for sprinkling
• Crusty baguette, for serving 1 medium globe eggplant (about 1 pound and 8 inches long)
• 3/4 cup olive oil, divided, plus more as needed
• Flaky sea salt, for sprinkling
• Crusty baguette, for serving

DIRECTIONS

Step 1

Trim both ends of the eggplant and cut crosswise into 1 1/4-inch-thick slices. (Use a ruler, as it's thicker than you might think.) Do not peel the eggplant, as the peel will help retain the shape.

Step 2

Place a large (12-inch) heavy-bottomed skillet with a lid over medium heat and add 1/2 cup of the oil. When the oil begins to shimmer, place the eggplant rounds into the pan, turning them to coat with oil on both sides. Most of the oil will soak quickly into the eggplant, but don't be alarmed. Cover the pan with a lid and cook gently for 5 minutes, checking occasionally to make sure the eggplant is browning and reducing the heat as needed to prevent burning.

Step 3

Remove the lid, turn the eggplant slices over and drizzle the remaining 1/4 cup of oil into the pan. Cook, uncovered, for 3 to 5 minutes, or until a skewer or toothpick inserted into the eggplant slides through the center but meets some resistance closer to the edges. If the pan is dry, add another 1 to 2 teaspoons of oil and cover the pan again for another 2 minutes. When you take the lid off, you may start to see more olive oil releasing from the eggplant into the pan, so tilt the pan and spoon some of the hot oil over the tops of the eggplant slices. You can add another 1 teaspoon or so of oil if needed if the eggplant is sticking to the pan or it's looking dry again. Cover again and cook for about another 10 minutes, basting the slices with the hot oil every 1 to 2 minutes, and turning over frequently and moving the slices to different areas of the pan for even golden-brown caramelization on each side. Reduce the heat as needed to keep the eggplant from burning or sticking. Once the skewer slides in without resistance at both the center and the edges (the flesh should be as soft as softened butter) and the skin has begun to shrink around the edges, the eggplant is done.

Step 4

Transfer to a serving dish or charcuterie board, sprinkle with flaky salt, and serve warm or room temperature, with slices of crusty baguette and a spoon or knife for scooping out the creamy flesh.

Notes: Be sure to save any extra olive oil from the pan - it has great flavor and can be refrigerated in an airtight container to add to pasta or sautéed vegetables.