Roasted Curried Eggplant

It took me eons to get into cooking with eggplant for the simple reason that I didn't know why I should.  I have no recollection of eating it as a kid and wasn't sure what a good eggplant should look or taste like.

I now eat eggplant semi-regularly and like the slightly sweet flesh and gooey texture in combination with other ingredients. It's also full of good nutrients like antioxidants and fibre. Think cancer fighting, poop annihilating material!

If you are unfamiliar with eggplants and looking to buy some, choose small ones as they tend to be younger than their larger counterparts and their youth translates to sweeter flesh and less/no bitterness. The leaves should be green and the skin, a uniform color with no damage to it's surface. Go ahead and give your eggplant a good poke. The flesh should spring back when pressure is released. These rules apply to many a vegetable. In conventional supermarkets, I don't often come across a worthy eggplant, but I've had better luck at H&W or markets.

From: http://bojongourmet.com

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

• 4 large eggplants
• 2 T olive oil
• 3 T coconut oil/ghee
• 2 small onions, diced
• 2 dried chiles
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 thumb of ginger, peeled and sliced
• 2 T coriander seeds
• 1 t peppercorns
• 8 cardamom pods
• 1 T turmeric
• 5 tomatoes, diced
• 1, 400ml can of coconut milk
• 1/2 cup water
• salt to taste

• 1 1/2 cups basmati rice
• cilantro to serve
• Greek yoghurt to serve

Method

Preheat the oven to 400F. Slice the eggplant in one inch slices and place on a baking sheet. Drizzle the olive oil overtop of the eggplant and sprinkle a little salt overtop. Roast for 10 minutes, remove from oven, flip the pieces and roast for another five minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.

In a large saucepan, heat the coconut oil until melted. Add the onions and crumble in the chiles. Saute on medium heat for ten minutes. While the onions are cooking, peel the cardamom pods, removing the black seeds and blend the seeds with the coriander and peppercorns in a grinder or food processor. Add the spice blend, the turmeric, ginger and garlic and combine well with the onions, allowing the spices to heat.  Add tomatoes, eggplant, coconut milk and water and simmer for 20-30 minutes.

For the rice, rinse until the water runs clear. Simmer, covered for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit for 5 minutes.

Serve with yoghurt and cilantro.

A Little Green Inspiration

We have a couple of discount vegetable markets in Edmonton that offer a wide array of good produce. When I make a trip, I buy a lot of veg and only after I've brought a box home do I think about what I'm going to do with these damn vegetables. I think I just channeled my uncle. Let's get back on track. Anyways, I'm convinced this is not the way one's supposed to shop, but I like the challenge of using what I have to make a meal.

Dish number one is Aubergine Al Forno. The Canadian translation has got to be 'torched eggplant', which is why we're going to stick to its original title. Oven roasted vegetables with a little garlic, cinnamon and olive oil form the base of this dish. Toss in some breadcrumbs, pine nuts (sunflower seeds for those with nuts allergies), some raisins and dig in. It's great as a side dish, but I paired it with a little pasta to make it a meal and got a kick out of it.

The second  option is a garlicky kale salad. I consider this the hipster's answer to a caesar salad. This salad made me lose my mind with excitement. It was delicious and I was tickled that it offered more food value than a traditional caesar salad.

Finally I made a simple spinach salad with roasted beets and parsnips and added some goat cheese and walnuts to give it a little protein. None of these recipes are difficult. They are an offering of inspiration for those wanting to incorporate veggies into their hibernation diet. While I'm not ready for spring salads, these recipes provide me light winter options for the cold months ahead.

Aubergine Al Forno

From: http://www.jamieoliver.com/

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 3 Japanese eggplants, sliced in 1/2" pieces
• olive oil
• 1/2 t cinnamon
• salt and pepper 
• 5 green onions, sliced in one inch pieces
• 2 garlic cloves, finally chopped
• 10-12 cherry tomatoes
• red wine vinegar
• 1/3 cup breadcrumbs
• 1/3 pine nuts
• 2 T raisins

Method

Preheat the oven to 425F. Place place the eggplant slices in a baking dish and brush the slices with olive oil to coat. Sprinkle the cinnamon and a little salt and pepper to season. Bake for 15-20 minutes, adding the onions, garlic and tomatoes halfway through. Once all the vegetables are softened and a little charred, remove from the oven and pour a little red wine vinegar over the vegetables.

In a bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, pine nuts, raisins, a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch each of cinnamon, salt and pepper. Pour the ingredients over the vegetables and toss well. Cook for another 5-10 minutes until crispy and golden.

Garlicky Kale Salad

From: http://minimalistbaker.com

Serves 4 as a meal

Ingredients

• 1 head of garlic
• 570 ml can of chickpeas
• olive oil
• 1 T garam masala, paprika and/or garlic salt
• 1 bunch of kale finely chopped
• 1/4 cup tahini
• 1/3 cup lemon juice
• 1 T maple syrup
• salt and pepper to taste
• hot water to thin if required

Method

Preheat oven to 375F. Drain and rinse your chick peas well and pour them into a bowl.  Add a drizzle of olive oil and whatever combination of seasoning you want or have on hand. I used a tablespoon of garam masala and some salt and pepper. Toss the chick peas well to season them. Separate the garlic cloves, leaving the skin on and place them on the edge of a baking sheet. Place the chick peas on the same sheet and bake both for about 20 minutes. Remove when the chick peas are golden brown and the garlic is soft.

For the dressing, combine the tahini, lemon juice, syrup, salt and pepper in a bowl. Remove the skin from the garlic cloves and add the cloves to the bowl. Using a stick blender, blend the ingredients. Thin the dressing with water if desired.

Place the kale in a large bowl. Pour in the salad dressing and toss so that all the leaves are well coated. Pour the chick peas into the centre of the bowl and serve.

Roasted Vegetable Spinach Salad

Serves 6 as a meal

Ingredients

• bunch of spinach, washed with stems removed
• two medium beets
• 3 parsnips
• 130g goat cheese 
• walnuts
• olive oil
• salt and pepper
• balsamic vinegar

Method

Preheat oven to 400F. Wrap the beets as is in foil. Wash and cut the parsnips in 1-2 inch pieces and place in a bowl. Drizzle a little olive oil and toss well. Add a few pinches of salt and pepper and toss again. Pour the parsnips on a baking sheet and place the beets adjacent to them in the oven. The parsnips should take about 20 minutes and can be removed from the oven to cook. The beets will take closer to 40 depending on their size. When the beets are done, remove them from the foil and set them aside. Once cooled, peel both beets and slice in wedges.

To prepare the salad, place the spinach in a large bowl. Add the parsnips and beets over the spinach. Crumble the goat cheese over the salad and add walnuts liberally. When serving, drizzle each portion with a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar and enjoy.

Japanese Eggplant

Behold the Japanese eggplant! It tastes remarkably like a regular eggplant, so I really can't tell you why I would use it over the standard one. I also have no idea what inspired its' name as none of the versions I've seen really look like an egg in the first place. So why would you eat eggplant? Well, I've asked myself that very question. I don't find them all that flavourful, but they seem to come alive when roasted or grilled. This may also be because I top them with all kinds of things such as chile paste or pesto and a soft cheese once off the grill. They make a good base...kind of like an odd textured cracker.

What I didn't know about eggplants is that they are a fruit and are loaded with all sorts of goodies. For instance, eggplants have fiber, iron, potassium, folate, manganese and calcium in them. Good news! So if you are interested in getting loaded up with vitamins and minerals, consider this odd little number and try the following recipes.

Grilled Eggplant topped with Yoghurt and Dill

It is as easy as it sounds.

I tried slicing two Japanese eggplants both horizontally and vertically and had more success with the horizontal slices. I brushed each slice with a little olive oil and roasted them on a grill plate in the oven for 15-20 minutes at 400F. Half way through, I flipped each slice to get an even grill on both sides.

The sauce is just a cup of 2% yoghurt with some chopped dill, salt and pepper in it. I seasoned the eggplant slices with salt and pepper once out of the oven and then topped some of them with the yoghurt sauce.


Roasted Cauliflower with Walnuts, Gruyere and Eggplant on a Bed of Spinach

I reserved most of the horizontal slices of eggplant for this salad. I used half a head of cauliflower,
brushing each bite-size piece with some olive oil and roasting them in the oven on a cookie sheet for about 20 minutes at 450F. Once roasted, I built each serving individually arranging a handful of spinach on each plate, followed by a few walnut pieces, some cubed Gruyere, a handful of the cauliflower and the eggplant. I used about a half cup each of cubed Gruyere, walnuts and eggplant to make four servings. Each of the salads was topped off with a drizzle of olive oil and some quality salt and cracked pepper.

Baba Ghanoush

Our new cat is helping me draft this post. He's finally curled up beside me after his four post-poop laps of the apartment and has his paw on the space bar in the event I need assistance. 

As part of this cookathon I mentioned in an earlier post, I went looking for dips to include as a snack in my meal. I'm into week five of a triathlon training program and am coming to terms with the fact that peanut butter M&M's are not the afternoon boost my coach was referring to. Too bad, because I've just heard that the U.S. has limited edition coconut M&M's on hand. Sweet lord, that sounds worth a try.  This week I thought I'd replace afternoon chocolate with afternoon baba ghanoush. While very tasty, it is definitely not chocolate. Mind you, I had a few end-of-day workouts this week that wouldn't have been possible without a substance snack and this is that kind of snack. Serve it with pita bread, veggies or crackers and enjoy. Remember that the garlic in this recipe gets more intense over time, so you may opt not to bring it to the office closer to the end of the week. I have no shame, so I just kept bringing it to work. 

In other news, the recipe this is based on calls for no salt. In an effort to reduce salt intake, the authors have indicated that the acid from the lemon juice helps enhance the flavour in this dish sufficiently to warrant no additional salt. While likely true, I added Sriracha sauce and salt, because..well.. I felt it needed a bit more punch. You may want to try the recipe from Three Many Cooks first and then add the salt and sauce if you prefer a little more punch too.

Adapted From: http://threemanycooks.com/

Serves 8

Ingredients

• 2 medium eggplants, poked with a fork
• 1/2 cup packed parsley leaves
• 2 garlic cloves
• 3 T lemon juice
• 1 T smoked paprika, plus extra for sprinkling on top of the dish
• 2 t ground cumin
• 1/4 cup of olive oil
• 1/4 cup of tahini
• 1 T Sriracha sauce
• 1 t salt

Method

Adjust your oven rack to a middle position and heat oven to 400F. Place the eggplants on a baking sheet and in the oven for approximately 40 minutes, or until they look wrinkly and sad. Once they've cooled enough to handle, remove the skin from the eggplants.

Mince parsley and garlic in a food processer. Add the eggplants and remaining ingredients and process until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and top with a little smoked paprika and drizzled olive oil. Serve with chopped vegetables, crackers and/or pita wedges. 

Eggplant Involtini with Herbed Ricotta

This recipe called for slices of eggplant to be wrapped around a ricotta filling. My eggplant slices weren't thin enough to make it work and I was on a schedule. Instead I built this dish quickly, like a lasagna: a layer of tomato sauce, layer of ricotta, and layer of eggplant repeated. I topped this off with a few cups of spinach left over from a half-finished salad. Not bad, not bad at all. 

The meatless dishes I'm finding are pretty concentrated in the cheese department and although I won't forego dairy, cutting back wouldn't hurt with respect to other recipes. Don't cut back on this one. Ricotta and cottage cheese give it a wonderful texture and build on it's already zesty flavour. 

Adapted From: http://simply-delicious.co.za

Serves 8

Ingredients

• 2 large eggplants, sliced into ½ inch slices
• Olive oil, for brushing

Ricotta Filling 

• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 1 cup cottage cheese
• 2 T each fresh mint, parsley and basil, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• Salt & pepper to taste
• 1 chilli, finely chopped (optional)

Tomato sauce 

• 1 28 oz tin of whole tomatoes
• 1 red onion, roughly chopped
• 1 garlic clove, sliced
• 1 t sugar
• 2 t salt
• 2 t dried Italian herbs
• Black pepper, to taste
• Grated asiago, for topping

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 400F.

Start by grilling the eggplant. Simply brush each eggplant slice with olive oil and place on a very hot pan. Grill for 2-3 minutes per side. Remove from the pan and set aside. Continue until all the eggplant slices have been grilled.

To make the filling, simply combine all the ingredients and mix well.

Before making the involtini, make the tomato sauce. I use my food processor for this but you could use a hand blender or just finely chop everything and mix. I place all the ingredients in my food processor and blend until the sauce is relatively smooth.

Pour the tomato sauce in the bottom of an oven-proof dish.

To make the involtini, place a dollop of the ricotta filling onto a slice of eggplant and roll up.  Place in the tomato sauce and continue until all the eggplant slices have been used.

If you have any filling left over you can dollop it on top of the eggplant slices.

Scatter the grated asiago over the top and place in the oven.

Allow to bake for 15-20 minutes until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese is golden brown.

Remove from the oven and serve with grilled bread and a green salad.

Lentil, eggplant & feta salad with a balsamic vinaigrette

Yummity, yum, yummers. This salad just rocked my world! The combination of fresh basil, cilantro and feta from a local Greek market makes for a fresh and tangy bite. I have to add that if you have access to the variety of niche markets that cover this great city, take advantage of them. The kalamatas and feta I get at Hella's food market off 124th Street, taste quite different from the ones I pick up at the local grocery store. It's worth making the extra trip if you've got the time.

Adapted from http://www.gourmantineblog.com


Serves 6

• 1 cup dried lentils
• 1 litre vegetable stock
• 2 garlic cloves crushed
• 2 cups chopped tomatoes (I used cherry tomatoes here, but any other type will do just fine)
• 1 eggplant
• feta cheese (according to taste)

Vinaigrette

• 1 garlic clove
• pinch of dried chili 
• 4 T good quality balsamic vinegar
• 4 T extra virgin olive oil
• Handful of basil
• Handful of cilantro
• salt and freshly grounded pepper

Bring the stock to boil, add the crushed garlic, lentils and cook for 15-20 minutes. When ready, remove the garlic and drain.

Slice the eggplant lengthways and chargrill for a few minutes on each side. Let it cool for a few minutes, and then cut in equal size pieces. Toss together with lentils, halved tomatoes and feta cheese.

For the vinaigrette, in a pestle mortar grind together garlic, dried chili and half of basil leaves until you have a paste, then add the balsamic vinegar and continue to stir around till well combined, then stir in the olive oil to have a homogenous vinaigrette. Finish by adding finely chopped cilantro and the rest of basil.

Serve the salad either warm or cold with some vinaigrette on top.