Eggplant – for almost all eggplant recipes:

“Peel the eggplants but leave some of the skin on to ‘hold them together.’ Slice them into rounds and place the slices into a scolo pasta (colander). Salt the eggplants and place a heavy plate on top and set the colander in the sink for about 1/2 hour.” – Nicki Filipponi

Another way to prepare eggplant for cooking is to lay them out on paper towels and sprinkle with salt. Wait 20 minutes and blot the moisture with additional paper towels.