So many of you enjoyed eggplant week. Here is a recap of all the recipes from last week plus one extra as a bonus. I hope you enjoy this.
Grilled Eggplant and Tomato Tarte
AN incredibly easy and delicious. I love to serve this with a nice salad and it’s an incredible meal, especially this time of the year with eggplant and tomatoes in season right now.
Ingredients
(Serves 4)
1 sheet of Puff Pastry (Rectangle)
9 slices of Eggplant Grilled with olive oil
3 tbsp. Balsamic Reduction
4 oz. Low Moisture Mozzarella, sliced thinly
3 tbsp. Grated Pecorino Romano
1 Tomato, Sliced Thinly
10 Basil Leaves, chopped
Drizzle of Olive OIl
Sprinkle of Salt
1 Egg, Beaten
Method
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment.
Slice the tomato and put on a piece of paper towel and sprinkle with salt. This will draw out excess liquid. Do this for about 15 minutes and pat the tomatoes dry. Set aside.
Put the puff pastry on the parchment. Roll it out slightly and poke all over with a fork.
Leaving a one inch border around the perimeter of the puff pastry sheet and put down a single layer of the eggplant.
Drizzle some balsamic reduction over the top of the eggplant.
Put on a layer of the mozzarella, then Pecorino, some chopped basil and another drizzle of balsamic.
Next goes a single layer of the tomato slices.
Sprinkle on more Pecorino, a drizzle of olive oil, more basil and a final layer of the mozzarella. Then fold the sides of the puff pastry in to form a border around the tomatoes. Use a pastry brush, coat the sides of the puff pastry with the eggs and bake for about a half hour.
Serve
Baked Mini Princess Eggplants and Cherry Tomatoes Oreganata
AN easy side dish that is so delicious. I found these amazing mini princess eggplants at the farmers market last week. I love all the varieties of fresh veggies that can be found this time of year.
There are so many varieties of eggplant, and they even tend to have less seeds. So, less bitterness. I came home and decided to make this quick and easy dish with what I had on hand and it was a huge hit. Six ingredients...that’s it.
Honestly, this would even be a great dish for an antipasto. I could literally eat the whole thing with fresh crusty bread!!! Yum.
I used my extra virgin olive oil from Tuscany. I cook with it all the time!! I am very low in stock, so purchase now because the new olive oil won't be available until late November.
You can purchase it here on my website www.miciamammas.com
Ingredients
(Serves 4 to 6)
1 Dozen Mini Eggplants - Stems removed and cut in half lengthwise
1 Cup Cherry Tomatoes
3/4 Cups Extra Virgin Olive Oil
¾ tsp. Salt
½ tsp. Pepper
½ Cup Italian Style Bread Crumb (See the recipe on our website for homemade version, but can use store bought)
Method
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
In a shallow 9 inch baking pan (I use Pyrex) put the eggplant and the tomatoes. Toss with ½ cup of olive oil, salt and pepper. Make sure the flesh side is down for each piece of eggplant and put in the oven for about 30 minutes until the eggplant is almost cooked through.
In the meantime, in a bowl combine the bread crumbs with ¼ cup of olive oil.
Take the eggplant mixture out of the oven. Flip the eggplants over and spread the bread crumb mixture evenly over the top of the veggies.
Put them back in the oven for another 10 minutes until the breadcrumbs are nice and toasty. Serve
My Nonna’s Eggplant Parmigiana
IS one of my favorite and easiest ways to make this dish. There is a secret ingredient that I bet you would never guess but it makes such a difference. A hard boiled egg. My nonna’s family was Calabrese and they seemed to put a lot of hard boiled eggs in their dishes. Let me explain what the egg does. The yolk of the egg seems to make the sauce even creamier and it lends a hidden flavor that is just spectacular. Trust me when I say that it is cut so tiny you wouldn’t even know it was there, but the addition makes this dish over the top delicious.
Ingredients
(Serves 6 to 8)
4 Medium Eggplants, Sliced thinly about ⅛ inch with the skin on
Oil for Frying, I use olive oil
4 oz. of Mozzarella, Cut into tiny cubes
3 Cups of Tomato Sauce, See my recipe for marinara (PG??)
⅔ Cup of Grated Pecorino Romano Cheese
4 Hard Boiled Eggs, Diced into very tiny pieces
Black Pepper
Method
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
Heat the oil in a frying pan and begin to fry the eggplant slices. Cook for about 2 minutes on each side until they begin to brown and are cooked through. Take the eggplant out of the oil and put on pieces of paper towel to drain out any excess oil. Continue to fry until all the eggplant is cooked. Then drain the eggplant a second time on new paper two and set aside.
In an oven safe pan (I use a 9 x 13 Pyrex) begin to layer the eggplant.
First, coat the bottom with sauce. Then lay the eggplant in a single layer on top of the sauce. Put more sauce on top of the eggplant layer, sprinkle with grated Pecorino, black pepper, and the hard boiled egg. Repeat the process until you use up all the eggplant.
Top with some more sauce, Pecorino and black pepper.
Evenly spread the cubes of mozzarella all over the top of the parmigiana.
Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 35 minutes. It will start to bubble.
Remove the foil and bake for another 15 minutes or until the mozzarella is golden brown.
Serve
Grilled Eggplant Parmigiana
ALL done on your grill is a simple and healthy version of the classic recipe.
With the weather being so warm this time of the year, it’s great not to have to turn on your oven or to mess up your stove. Cooking everything on the barbecue is such an easy cleanup. Plus, you can cook more eggplant all at once. So this recipe is super quick
I love making this the day before I’m serving it, because it tastes better than the next day.
So it’s great to make for a dinner party or for a big family dinner.
Grilled Eggplant Parmigiana
Ingredients
(Serves 6)
3 lbs. Eggplant, sliced ¼ inch thick
1 ⅔ cups Olive Oil
2 Cups Tomato Sauce (See my marinara sauce recipe on my website)
½ cup Grated Pecorino Romano
8 oz Mozzarella, sliced thinly
Method
Heat your grill to 375 degrees
Using a pastry brush generously brush both sides of the sliced eggplant with olive oil .Grill for about two to three minutes on each side.
Put an 11 inch frying pan on the grill.
Coat with a little olive oil.
Begin to layer the parmigiana. First put a single layer of eggplant. Cover this layer with tomato sauce.
Then sprinkle on grated Pecorino. Put on a single layer of mozzarella. Repeat this process for three layers.
Cover and bake on the BBQ for about 20 minutes.
For this recipe, I use a regular frying pan. If you don’t have one with the stainless steel handle. Just simply cover the handle completely with aluminum foil and you’ll be fine.
Eggplant Meatballs
ARE one of my favorite eggplant recipes. Growing up I didn’t eat meat and my family would make these for me. I love them and I hope you will too.
Ingredients
(Serves 8)
Basic Tomato Sauce
½ Cup Olive Oil
12 Garlic Cloves
¼ Teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
4 Cans (28 Ounce) Whole Tomatoes
15 Basil Leaves
2 Teaspoons Salt
1 Teaspoon Pepper
1 Pecorino Romano End (Optional)
Eggplant Meatballs
2 lbs. Eggplant - cut into ½ inch pieces with skin on
4 tbsp. Olive Oil, plus more for frying the meatballs
3 Garlic Cloves, taken from the cooked tomato sauce
2 tbsp. Fresh Parsley, chopped
1 Cup Bread Crumbs, plain
1 Cup Pecorino, grated, plus more for grating on the meatballs
2 Eggs, beaten
½ tsp. Salt
¼ tsp Pepper
⅔ Cup of the Tomato Sauce
2 tbsp. Basil, chopped
1 ½ Cups Ricotta
2 lbs. Pasta
Method
First, start the sauce. In a saucepan heat up the ½ cup olive oil and 12 cloves of garlic. Simmer on a very low flame.
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment and preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
In a bowl, mix the eggplant with 4 tbsp. olive oil and ¼ tsp. salt. Place the eggplant in a single layer on the parchment and bake for 25 minutes.
While that bakes, slowly sauté the garlic until fork tender.
Purée 3 cans of tomatoes. I put 1 can at a time in the blender and pulse about 15 times. The fourth can, put in a bowl and crush by hand.
Raise the heat to medium and add the tomatoes immediately.
Bring to a simmer (about 10 minutes) and reduce the heat to low.
Season with salt and pepper.
Then add in the basil. I like to use my hands to tear the leaves up as I put them in the sauce.
Next add in the Pecorino cheese end and simmer for about 15 minutes more.
Boil the pasta water.
When the eggplant is cooked through, remove from the oven and place in a large bowl. Cool slightly. Roughly mash using potato masher. Remove three garlic cloves from the sauce and mash. Add the garlic to the eggplant along with parsley, breadcrumbs, Pecorino, eggs, ½ tsp. salt, pepper, tomato sauce and basil.
Combine using your hands and form into balls, about 2 tbsp. each. Coat a large frying pan with olive oil and heat on a low flame. Add in some meatballs and fry for about 6 minutes. Be sure to gently turn them halfway so they get browned on all sides. Once the meatballs are cooked, remove, place on paper towels and add in more balls.
Next coat a large cast iron or oven safe pans with the tomato sauce. If you do not have one you can use a large Pyrex (baking dish). Add in the meatballs leaving about an inch between the balls.
Take dollops of the ricotta and place around the balls. Sprinkle on more Pecorino and place in the oven. Cook for 15 minutes
In the meantime, boil and drain the pasta and combine in the sauce.
Take the meatballs out of the oven, top with more Pecorino and serve with the pasta.
Grilled Pickled Eggplant
IS such a delicious recipe. Since I was a kid I have loved eggplant and I am always looking for new ways to make it. This recipe is one of my favorites. It’s so easy to make and it has so much flavor. I love to serve it with my antipasto. I even put it on a sandwich with some fresh mozzarella and prosciutto. So good!
I usually make it in a double batch and store it in my refrigerator for up to a week. Although I have to say it never lasts that long.
Make sure the eggplants are not too large. They should be skinny!!!
Grilled Pickled Eggplant
(Serves 4)
1 Eggplant, (about 1.8 lbs), Sliced Thinly
⅓ and ¼ Cups Extra Virgin Olive Oil
¾ tsp. Salt
9 Garlic Cloves, Whole
1 tbsp. And 1 tsp. High Quality Balsamic
1 Tbsp. Fresh Parsley, Chopped
6 Basil Leaves, Chopped
⅛ tsp. Red Pepper Flakes (Optional)
In a bowl add 1/3 of a cup of extra-virgin olive oil and ½ teaspoon of salt to your sliced eggplant and mix well. Put the eggplant slices on a heated grill and cook for about three minutes on each side or until cooked through.
For the dressing, cook the garlic with a ¼ cup of olive oil. Cook until fork tender and then mash the garlic in the olive oil. Add the garlic mixture to a small bowl. Add in the balsamic, ¼ tsp of salt, fresh parsley, basil and red pepper flakes (optional). Whisk the dressing very well. Add the dressing to the cooked eggplant and let it sit for about 20 minutes and serve. You can store this in an airtight container in your refrigerator for up to one week.
Roasted Vegetable (Eggplant) Dip
IS my favorite dip of all time. It is not only healthy, but it is easy to make. With less than 10 ingredients, quality is key here. That’s why I love Bionaturae. Their products are made in Italy, they are organic and so delicious.
The mixture of the roasted eggplant, red onion, red peppers, and garlic along with a little bit of basil, olive oil and tomato paste give this dip tremendous flavor.
This dip is also very versatile. I use it as a substitute for mayonnaise on sandwiches. I’ve even had people use this on pasta. It’s just an overall winner. Usually I serve the dip alongside some fresh vegetables and some of my homemade pita chips (you can find the recipe for the pita chips on my website).
This dip is perfect for entertaining as well. You can make it a few days in advance and just plate it up for your party.
Ingredients
(Serves 8)
1 Large Eggplant, Peeled and Cubed 1 inch pieces
3 Red Peppers, Seeded and Cut into 1 inch pieces
1 Red Onion, Cut into 1 inch pieces
6 Garlic Cloves, whole
7 tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 ¼ tsp. Salt
½ tsp. Black Pepper
1 tbsp Tomato paste
10 Fresh Basil Leaves
Method
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Cut the eggplant, peppers and onions into one inch pieces. Put the veggies in a bowl and add the garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper. Toss the vegetable mixture well.
Place on a baking sheet and bake for about 30 minutes until the vegetables are cooked through and slightly browned. Cool!!!
Then put the mixture into the food processor. Add the paste and fresh basil and pulse…about 8 to 10 times.
Refrigerate for two hours and serve.