If you were to roast eggplant in the oven or fry it in a pan, it would need to be doused or cooked with oil in order to be crispy. Cooking eggplant in the air fryer means you’re cooking mostly oil-free (other than a spritz of oil on the fryer basket). There are other benefits. When you cook eggplant in the air fryer, it comes out crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside. Put it in the fryer, set the timer and it’s done. There’s less heat in the kitchen and clean-up is easier too.
A member of the nightshade family (along with tomatoes and potatoes), eggplant is a fruit, not a vegetable. Its peel is high in anthocyanins — the chemical that gives eggplant its rich purple color. Anthocyanins also provide several health benefits such as vitamins, antioxidants, and fiber (via Livestrong). The entire eggplant is a great source of vitamin B6, vitamin C, and potassium, and can help lower cholesterol and regulate high blood pressure. However, if you are making baba ganoush, remove the peel for smoothness, says Hahn.
There are many types and shapes of eggplant, the most common being Globe, Japanese, Nadia, and Chinese. Depending on what dish you are making — ratatouille, eggplant parm, or baba ganoush — you can place them in the air fryer in strips, slices, or halves.
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