Oven-baked eggplants with yogurt

Mix of pure, very nutritious ingredients which turn into a delicious, healthy, high-calcium dish.
 
Ingredients (serves 4)

• 3 firm, medium-sized eggplants
• 250 g of 2% fat yogurt
• 80 g olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 30 g Parmesan cheese
• 3 tbsp. fresh basil, finely chopped
• Salt, pepper
  

Instructions

Cut the eggplants in 5 mm slices, put them in the strainer, season them with salt and let them rest for 2 hours to draw their liquid out. In a bowl, mix the yogurt, olive oil, garlic, pepper and basil. Arrange the eggplants next to each other in a baking pan, after having brushed them on both sides with the yogurt mix. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and bake in a preheated oven (medium temperature), until the eggplants are baked and the liquids are absorbed.

Comment by the experts

The eggplant is one of the most delicious vegetables. It belongs to the nightshade family (Solanaceae family). Even though there are many varieties grown worldwide, the most common is Solanum melongena. Wild relatives of specific eggplant varieties produce big, prickly leaves and hard, small, round, green fruits. S. melongena eggplant differs from its wild ancestors, mainly in the color and the size of the fruit. The produced fruit of the grown eggplant is bigger than the wild type and with a wide variety of sizes, while, in terms of color, it varies from deep violet to black, with the addition of some green and white varieties. But did you know that the eggplant is one of the most nutritious vegetables? The reason is that it provides important, beneficial nutrients, as well as other health benefits due to its abundance of vitamins, inorganic and bioactive compounds. The bioactive properties of the eggplant are related to its high concentration in phenol compounds – mainly phenolic acids – and specifically chlorogenic acid on the flesh and anthocyanins on the skin of the fruit. Both phenolic acids and anthocyanins have a plethora of benefits for human health. The antioxidant capacity of the eggplant ranks it among the Top 10 of 120 different vegetables and is related to the color and the size of the fruit. According to the results of studies, small, purple eggplants seem to have a higher concentration of phenolic acids and anthocyanins and a higher antioxidant capacity than other types of eggplants (e.g. long green, big purple, middle-sized). The cooking method is important! The antioxidant capacity of an eggplant is 50% less when fried, while baking it in high temperatures leads to higher levels of phenol compounds and antioxidant capacity compared to the raw eggplant.

Nutrition facts per serving

➔ 340 kcal

➔ Fat 25 g (8 g saturated)

➔ Carbohydrates 13 g

➔ Protein 12 g

➔ Dietary fibers 6 g (high source of dietary fibers)

➔ Calcium 300 mg (covers 35-40% of the Daily Dietary Reference Intake in calcium)

The Dietary Analysis was calculated by software tools.

Information about all food and beverages in the food database have been taken from the respective distribution companies of the products in Greece (nutrition labels), the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA – National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference), the official British Composition of Foods Integrated Dataset (COFID) and the book "Composition Tables of Foods and Greek Dishes", 3rd edition (Trichopoulos A. Athens 2004, Scientific Publications Parisianos SA).