Eggplant
Here's the secret for delicious eggplant:
Slice the eggplant and generously sprinkle Kosher salt on each slice. Place the eggplant in a colander. Put a plate with a weight on top and press the slices for at least an hour. Rinse the slices before cooking them
Baked Eggplant with Mushroom and Tomato Sauce
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Slice eggplant and generously sprinkle Kosher salt on each slice. Place eggplant slices in a colander. Put a plate with a weight (like a heavy, sealed can of food) on top. Press slices for at least an hour. Rinse slices before cooking them. Shake off excess water. Preheat broiler.
Arrange eggplant slices on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray; broil 3 minutes on each side or until lightly browned. Lower the oven temperature to 375°. Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium heat; add onion, Italian seasoning, salt, garlic and mushrooms. Cover and cook 7 minutes or until tender, stirring mixture occasionally. Increase heat to medium-high; uncover and cook for 2 minutes or until liquid evaporates; make sure that this mixture is not wet when finished cooking. Spread half of mushroom mixture in the bottom of a 1 1/2-quart round baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange half of eggplant slices over mushroom mixture; sprinkle with 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Top with 1/2 cup tomato sauce and 1/3 cup mozzarella. Spread remaining mushroom mixture over mozzarella; top with remaining eggplant slices. Sprinkle with 1/8 teaspoon pepper; top with remaining tomato sauce. Cover and bake at 375° for 45 minutes. Sprinkle with 1/3 cup mozzarella and Parmesan. Bake, uncovered, 5 minutes or until cheese melts. Let stand 10 minutes. |
Eggplant Parmesan
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Layer eggplant slices in a colander and sprinkle each layer with a generous amount of salt. Put a plate with a weight on top and press the slices for at least an hour.
Heat 1/2 inch oil in a large skillet. Rinse eggplant slices and pat dry. Add salt and pepper to flour. Drench eggplant in flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs. Fry until each side is golden brown. Spread 1/2 c of marinara sauce in bottom of a 9 X 9 baking dish. Layer fried eggplant slices, marinara sauce, chopped basil, mozzarella slices, and Parmesan cheese in four stacks in pan. Bake at 375 degrees for a half hour or until cheese is brown and bubbly. Serves 4 - even your kids! (Just don't tell them it's eggplant until after they've eaten it.) |
Flat bread with Eggplant, Peppers and Onions
Flat bread dough
Topping
Don't let the length of this recipe intimidate you! Making flat bread dough is easy - once you've done it a few times, you won't even need a recipe. The topping is prepared while the dough is rising. |
Dissolve the yeast and sugar in warm water in a bowl. Let sit for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the yeast becomes foamy on top.
In another bowl, mix the flour and salt. When the yeast is ready, add it to the flour mixture along with the olive oil. Stir until it forms a ball. Kneed the dough on a floured surface for at least five minutes. You want the dough to be smooth and elastic. Place the dough in a bowl that has been lightly coated with olive oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit in a warm place until dough begins to puff, about an hour, depending on how active the yeast is. While the dough is rising, place the bell peppers, eggplant and onion on a baking sheet and roast at 450 degrees, turning several times to cook evenly, until the peppers are blistered and blackened all over and the skin of the eggplant is wrinkled and shriveled, about 45 minutes. Transfer the peppers and eggplant to a paper bag. Close the bag and set aside until cool enough to handle, about 15 minutes. Leave the oven on. Roll out dough on a 12 X 9 inch rimmed baking sheet. Let it rest for 15 minutes, brush with olive oil and bake for 15 minutes, or until the crust starts to turn brown. While the crust is baking, peel the charred skins off the roasted eggplant and peppers. Slice each bell pepper in half lengthwise and discard the seeds, ribs and stems. Cut the peppers and eggplant into thin strips. Quarter the onion, and cut the quarters into strips, lengthwise. In a large bowl, combine the eggplant, bell pepper and onion strips with the garlic and olives, and season generously with salt and pepper. Remove crust from oven and cover with the eggplant, peppers and onion mixture. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake for another 10 minutes. |
Grilled Eggplant
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Trim eggplant and cut into ¾-inch thick diagonal slices. Layer eggplant slices in a colander and sprinkle each layer with a generous amount of salt. Put a plate with a weight on top and press the slices for at least an hour.
Meanwhile, heat a charcoal or gas grill to medium-high heat (you can hold your hand about an inch above the grill for 3 to 4 seconds). Drain eggplant and pat dry with paper towels or a clean kitchen towel. Lay on a large baking sheet or tray. Brush one side with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Splash with balsamic vinegar if being used. Lay oiled-side-down on the grill. Close lid if using a gas grill and cook until grill marks appear, about 5 minutes. Brush top sides with oil and remaining balsamic vinegar, and sprinkle with salt. Turn slices over, close lid on a gas grill and cook until grill marks appear on the other side and eggplant is very tender, about 5 minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature. |