Eggplant/Aubergine Delics

My favorite vegetable is finally in abundance fresh! I rejoice! I have long wanted to have an eggplant-themed potluck with as many variations on this umami-packed veg. In the meantime, I'm cooking my way through a few variations. The big purple ones are the most common, but I sometimes get the small long thin ones (best for Szechuan style), or the more bulbous white ones which indicate the origin of the "egg plant" term. The bigger ones are obviously easier for rounds, and can also be shredded to add body to soups and chillis, but there's no real difference in cooking technique.

Sandwich Rounds
Slice 2 large purple aubergine into rounds, paint with olive oil.*
Lay out in large shallow baking dish, sprinkle with salt. Add your choice of the following for more flavor: chopped hot peppers, onions, garlic, chopped olives, capers, fresh rosemary, tarragon.
Bake at 350 F for about 20 min. Check, and keep adding 5 more minutes till butter-soft when pricked with a fork. Cool, and save for sandwiches and pizzas! They go so great with fresh mozzarella and tomato or sweet red pepper that I can't even think about it without salivating.

Alternatively, you can fry the rounds, which is preferable in the summer, but eggplant absorbs ridiculous amounts of oil, so be sure to heat it real hot before adding the rounds, and drain on paper towels afterwards to blot up extra grease, and don't be shocked if you're new to frying eggplant; it won't be a low-fat endeavour.

*As a general tip, I recommend keeping an oil-only silicone pastry brush around, and a separate fiber pastry brush for egg whites. It's hard to wash oil out of fiber brushes.

Lemon-Thyme Sautee
Cube or shred 2 large aubergine (with a food processor or grater). Heat olive oil and garlic in pan, add aubergine, salt and pepper, toss. When it's cooked down to about 2/3rds the initial volume, add 2 Tbs chopped fresh thyme, juice of 1 lemon, remove from heat and toss vigorously. Add 4-6 chopped fresh roma tomatos. Enjoy over pasta or toast, with cheese, nutritional yeast, tempeh or seitan chunks if desired.

Szechuan Style
(adapted from Irene Kuo, The Key to Chinese Cooking)
Heat 2 minced garlic cloves, 1 minced shallot, 1 chopped dry chile pepper (or 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes or 1 Tbs chilli oil), 2-4 rounds of peeled fresh ginger in canola (or your choice) oil in a wok or large skillet. Add 1.5 pounds aubergine wedges (approx. 5-7 of the small aubergines, I'd reckon, cut into 2-inch wedges), toss, add a spoonful of water, cover and steam while mixing the sauce. The sauce is made by stirring into a small bowl: 1 Tbs soy sauce, 2 Tbs dry sherry, 2 Tbs cider vinegar, 2 Tbs sugar, 1/2 tsp hand-crushed peppercorns, szechuan peppercorns, or more red pepper flakes. In another bowl, dissolve 1 tsp cornstarch in 1 Tbs water and 1 tsp sesame oil. Check on the pan, stirring every couple of minutes, pressing the wedges against the pan to cook, until they are extremely soft, maybe 20-30 minutes total. Then add the 2 sauce concoctions, stirring in between, and cook another 5 min or so, till the sauce thickens. Serve over brown rice with tofu or tempeh, garnished with fresh basil. Sri racha sauce on the side is great for those who want extra bite with their sweet-n-sour.