Roasted Eggplant and Tomato Soup

After I added enough tomato sauce to make the Moroccan Chicken with Eggplant kind of a soupy-stew, I started craving tomato soup.  I was excited then to find this full-fledged Roasted Eggplant and Tomato Soup recipe.  I prefer tomato soups with deeper earthy tones and herb flavors.  Eggplant seemed the perfect addition to promise just that. 

compliments of Martha Stewart

Unfortunately the store did not have plum tomatoes.  I was so looking forward to this recipe though that I ended up just settling for Roma tomatoes.  I must try this again when I can get my hands on the real thing.  Instead, I just added sugar in the end, when I was mixing the tomato mixture and roasted eggplant (otherwise, it would have likely burned in the oven).  I also used vegetable stock instead of water.  Everything else went according to plan and the recipe was quite easy actually.  My only dislike in making tomato soup is wasting the many sheets of aluminum foil to do the roasting.

I've been terribly lazy with taking pictures (and I hate blogs without pictures) so I've taken the liberty of borrowing the picture from Martha Stewart.

Grilled Hoisin-Glazed Eggplant

This is a Martha Stewart recipe.  What a household name, well-deserved for her "entrepreneurship."  It is a super super simple recipe BUT I recognize that Hoisin sauce may not be readily available in your fridge as it is in mine.  I am Vietnamese after all :)

Hoisin sauce, if you don't recognize the name, is that sweet brown sauce that you use at Vietnamese Pho restaurants.  Yes, that yummy sauce you love to dip beef balls into.  It's also the main ingredient to Spring Roll dipping sauce, a combination of Hoisin, peanut butter, vinegar and salt.  It can be purchased at any Asian market (specifically Vietnamese if you are fortunate to have one around).  So, if you stock it in your fridge, this recipe is superbly simple-- and gorgeous. 

Moroccan Chicken & Eggplant Stew

So this is one of those dishes that I couldn't stop my boyfriend from erupting about.  Yes, I chose the right verb.  Throughout dinner, every few moments he would loudly yell, "Man!  This is good!"  Yes, it's just that good.

What led me to this recipe was the realization that my entire run of eggplant recipes so far have been meat-free.  Eggplant is so commonly used as a substitute for meat that I hadn't even noticed not having it.  That had to change, of course, if I was going to be as diverse as I wanted to be with the ingredient.

This recipe-- Moroccan Chicken & Eggplant Stew-- just sounds darned good, doesn't it?  It is.  I did tweak a little.  Instead of the diced, canned tomatoes I used about 2 cups of fresh, chopped tomatoes and a 15oz can of tomato sauce.  I didn't realize what a difference it would make until my boyfriend called it the most delicious tomato soup he's ever had (which he's never been a fan of.  Until now!)  I wasn't sure if it was supposed to be quite as liquidy as it came out.  I also put in more eggplant than was called for and left the skin on. 

I honestly think that whichever way you make it, improvise it or adjust it, it's going to turn out delicious.  The flavors are just so complementary that even if you hitched up the paprika a notch or added some other herbs or whatever, it will still be so hearty, warm and delicious.  Most of the items are pretty likely in your home too or in your neighborhood (like lemons).  And of course, always be open to improvisation!

The only bad thing: I forgot to take a picture before it disappeared.  Guess I'll have to make it again.  That's a shame :)

Eggplant Sandwich-- you won't even miss meat!

This recipe basically combines eggplant and all of its complementary partners squeezed into a sandwich.  It leaves out Parmesan, one of the best partners to the eggplant, but the sandwich is great with or without it.  The feta does a fine job of providing the extra creamy saltiness and sourness.

The eggplant is cooked just like in my last post (8-10 minutes in a broiling oven) making it fantastically simple.  After that it's just assembly with the eggplant slices, tomato, feta cheese and basil leaves.  If mayo isn't your thing, leave it out but I'd definitely squeeze a good fresh garlic taste somewhere in the sandwich.  I'd like to try experimenting with garlic-infused oil or balsamic vinegar to slather on next time.

Even my boyfriend, who's not a fan of feta cheese, likes this combination of flavors.  It's a great alternative to meat, especially if you want to provide your vegetarian friends something that's so yummy (and you may even find your carnivorous friends sneaking some of these too!).