Day 2: This is day two of my blog about eggplants. As you can see it hasn't grown much. So I did research on when you should pick an eggplant, I learned that the eggplant should be a dark purple and shiny. When you squeeze the eggplant it should be firm. If you leave the eggplant on the stem to long it will be dull, squishy ,and leathery. Feel free to recommend recipes.
Cheesey Eggplant
ReplyDeleteIngredients:
1 medium eggplant
½ teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons lemon juice
1 can 8 ounces tomato sauce
¼ teaspoon crushed oregano leaves
½ cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon margarine
½ pound cooked ham, chopped
1/3 cup coarsely grated carrot
¼ cup finely chopped celery
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
Cut eggplant in half lengthwise. Scoop out pulp to within ½ inch of edge.
Directions:
Bring 2 cups water, salt, and 2 tablespoons lemon juice to a boil in 3 quart saucepan. Place eggplant shells in boiling water; cover. Parboil for 5 minutes. Drain and set aside. Chop eggplant pulp. Combine pulp, tomato sauce, oregano and remaining 2 tablespoons lemon juice in 2 quart saucepan. Heat to boiling point; set aside.
Sauté onion in margarine in skillet until tender. Remove from heat. Stir in remaining ingredients. Spoon 2/3 of the tomato mixture into buttered 1 ½ quart baking dish. Arrange eggplant shells on top. Spoon ham mixture into shells. Pour remaining tomato sauce over top. Bake in preheated 375 degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until hot.
Ok buddy,
ReplyDeleteThanks to you, now I've got to go fire up the grill and give this a try.
Spicy Grilled Eggplant
equipment
grill
wok
small bowl
Ingredients
1-1/2 pounds Chinese or Japanese eggplant, peeled and cut diagonally in 1/2-inch slices
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon canola or peanut oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
3 scallions, white part minced, green part thinly sliced
1 to 3 jalapeno or serrano chilies, minced (We used one of our homegrown peppers minus the seeds and thought it was pretty mild.)
SAUCE
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice wine
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon honey or sugar (If you warm the honey a bit, it mixes in easily.)
1 tablespoon cornstarch
Preparation
1. Preheat the grill to medium high heat. Bush the slices with the sesame oil and grill over medium heat until they have softened and the purple color is gone. (You can do this step up to 24 hours before serving, just refrigerate the grilled eggplant.)
2. SAUCE: In a small bowl, stir together the soy sauce, rice wine, rice vinegar, honey, and cornstarch. Set aside.
3. Preheat the wok on high. Swirl in the canola/peanut oil. If the wok is hot enough, the oil should move quickly around the wok. Add the garlic, ginger, scallion whites (not the green parts), and chilies. Stir for 10 seconds, until brown and fragrant. Add the eggplant and stir for 1 minute. Stir the sauce and add it to the wok. Bring the mixture to a boil. The sauce should thicken.
4. Serve hot or cold as an appetizer or vegetable side dish.
************************************************************
send a picture when its done. plus tell me how it taste.
ReplyDelete