BBQ Grilled Eggplant with a Tang Twist

Have I chosen a favorite eggplant dish yet?  If not, I think THIS is it.  It's amazing in so many ways.  The combination of flavors is surprising and so satisfying.  There's the smoked flavor of barbecue grilled eggplant and the sour-sweet-spiciness of the dressing, a balance of olive oil, pickled capers, olives, and vinegar-soaked onion.  It's so good I don't think the name "Spicy Seared Eggplant" does it justice.  I will therefore call it "BBQ Grilled Eggplant with a Tang Twist." (If you oven- grill, you'll miss out some awesome flavors!)

This is the only time in all the recipes I've done that I've tried salting the eggplant beforehand.  I do surrender, and admit that it did make a difference.  The eggplant was easier to handle on the grill and not so mushy, compared to the eggplant slices I did not salt.  The difference was slight though, and could be sacrificed for the sake of time if need be.  I also used a skewer to make grilling easier.

For the dressing, of course I did some improvisations.  I used red wine vinegar in place of sherry-wine vinegar.  Now I know they're quite different, but I liked how it didn't overwhelm the rest of the flavors.  I also used Kalamata olives in place of Gaeta olives and part of a thinly sliced yellow onion in place of the shallots.  Again, it's not exactly the same, but it's up to you whether the run to the store is worth it.  I thought the onions were excellent in the vinegar.

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!).  

Grilled Eggplant with your choice of toppings

This isn't so much a recipe as a few ideas.  With so many eggplant recipes that require sauteed, chopped up eggplant, they all kind of look the same.  So I wanted to find a different way of serving eggplant that's a little more unique and presentable.  Other pluses is that it is immensely easy to make, requires barely any time at all and is very versatile.

Turn the oven onto broil.  Slice your eggplant lengthwise, about 1/4 inch thick.  Brush melted butter or oil on both sides.  Season with salt, pepper, garlic, dried herbs or whatever you want.  Pop it in the oven for 3-4 minutes, flip the slices, and repeat.  You can eat the slices like this, or you can mound a topping in the middle of each slice.  Almost anything can be considered a topping.  I used canned chili beans and corn.  I also recommend tomato sauce with cheese and even a raw salad with balsamic vinegar dressing drizzled on top.  Or a chopped radish-cilantro-olive oil combination sounds great too.  Total time? 10 to 20 minutes.  Score!

Baked Eggplant, Potato and Onion Casserole

This was delicious!  The onions really made it.  I recommend it as an incredibly easy dish, though plan accordingly because it does take over an hour in the oven.

1 eggplant, sliced 1/4 inch
1 onion, sliced into rings
4-5 small potatoes (I had purple ones to add color)
Oil or butter
1 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  Cook potatoes until tender and slice into circles.  Fry the onions until well-done so the rings are moist (they'll dry out in the oven if you don't).  Grease your casserole dish and layer the bottom with eggplant.  It will overlap, but it's okay.  Sprinkle cheese on top.  This is optional, but I had leftover seasoning from another project and just sprinkled it on.  It was a combination of cumin, dried herbs and spices.  Then layer your potatoes, sprinkle more cheese, layer the cooked onion, and sprinkle on the rest of the cheese.  Pop it in the oven for 60-75 minutes.

Viola!  A super easy, super tasty dish.  The range of textures and flavors is really impressive for not very much work at all.