Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Eggplant Art

A friend gave to me these eggplants from her garden. They are so beautiful, I feel guilty eating them.





Soooo... if I am going to eat art, I need some suggestions on how to cook these lovely purple vegetables. Any recipes would be greatly appreciated.





P.S. I LOVE my "new" old Coffee Hound mug for which I paid $1.00. Currently, I am really "into" kitschy dime store ceramics from the 1950's. Inside is a hound dog and the back reads: Coffee Hound, Half Cupper, Kid Stuff. Soooo... funny.

4 comments:

  1. Ingredients:

    •2 large eggplants (sliced thinly)
    •2 Large Tomatoes (crushed with a hand blender)
    •1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil
    •3 cloves of garlic (minced)
    •salt and peper (to taste)
    •1 mozzarella cheese ball (shredded)
    •1 cup of breadcrumbs

    (Also Use Rosemary, Thyme, and Oregano For Seasoning. Use a Moderate amount of each!)


    Directions:
    1.In a medium sized pot, pour 1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil and turn on heat to medium. When the oil has warmed up a bit, add the minced garlic and saute for 1 minute, making sure the garlic does not burn.
    2.Add the can of crushed tomatoes and cook over medium heat for approximately 20 minutes
    3.Place sliced eggplants on a non-stick cookie tray and drizzle a bit of olive oil overtop. Place in a 375 degree oven. Leave eggplants in oven until they soften slightly, approximately 15 minutes and then remove from oven. The eggplants will continue to cook afterwards in the final steps
    4.In a casserole dish, pour enough tomato sauce to cover the base of the dish
    5.Place sliced eggplants to form an even layer covering the bottom of the dish and top with another layer of tomato sauce
    6.Sprinkle a bit of breadcrumbs and shredded mozzarella on top
    7.Repeat steps 4-6 (tomato sauce, breadcrumbs, mozzarella) in layers until eggplant slices are done
    8.Cover casserole dish with tin foil, and place in a 375 degree oven.
    9.Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until top layer is golden brown
    10.Slice in even square pieces and serve

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  2. Those eggplants really ARE gorgeous! What an amazing color they are! I like how you displayed them, and I like your mug too :)

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  3. Anonymous Commenter... this looks great... can't wait to try this!!!!! Thanks.

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  4. EGGPLANT SALATA

    2 eggplants
    4 Roma tomatoes, cut into large dice
    3 cloves garlic, finely minced
    Juice and zest of 1/2 lemon
    1/4 tsp ground Cumin
    1/4 c. fresh parsley, chopped
    Salt and Pepper to taste
    2 Tb. extra virgin olive oil

    Preheat oven to 400.

    Roughly peel and slice eggplants lengthwise into 4 slices. Add a little salt and pepper. Place
    slicves on foil-lined baking sheet and roast until tender, about 30 minutes. Cool slightly and chop into cubes, roughly 1" square.

    Stir together remaining ingredients and gently fold in eggplant. Adjust seasoning.

    Let rest at room temperature for several hours to marry flavors.

    Serve as a side dish or as a dip with pits. May be served at room temperature or warmed.

    (I jazzed it up a little bit, but this recipe originally came from the Filipino housekeeper of my Arkansan friend now living in Hong Kong -- the housekeeper got it from a Mediterranean cooking class that she took in China! Truly an international effort!)

    ReplyDelete