Eggplants and Tomatoes

Summer is almost over and I have not posted anything on eggplants.  Well, you know I just can't let that happen.  After all, eggplants will soon be out of season and I don't feel that you should wait a whole year to eat eggplant.

Eggplant is one of my favorite vegetables.  Until recently, the globe eggplant was the primary one available in the United States.  Now we have a wider variety, such as, Japanese, Thai and Rosa Bianca.  For more unusual varieties, check out your local farmers market. 

While eggplant Parmesan is an excellent dish, there are numerous ways to use eggplants.  The nice thing about eggplants is that they don't have a lot of flavor, therefore, they are able to blend in with other ingredients, such as tomatoes and zucchini. They can be sautéed and used on pizza, in lasagna, and in sandwiches. Eggplant is a component of the Greek dish, briam and the French dish, ratatouille. 

For this recipe, I went to the blog, Olive and Tomato.  I don't generally recommend many blogs, but this is one I like.  The blogger is Elena Paravantes, a registered dietitian, born in the US, but now residing in Athens, Greece.  Ms. Paravantes blogs on the Greek-Mediterranean diet.   This recipe is adapted from one that I found on her blog.

Tomato Topped Eggplants

Serves 4 to 6.

Ingredients:
2 to 3 eggplants
Extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
2 cups chopped tomatoes, preferably heirloom
½ cup chopped roasted red pepper
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon sugar, optional
4 to 6 ounces Feta cheese, crumbled

Directions:
1.  Slice eggplants crosswise, into ½-inch thick slices (do not peel).  Place eggplants in a colander, salt and allow to sit for about 1 hour.  This will help to reduce the bitterness and collapse plant cells, allowing the eggplant to absorb less oil.

2.  Heat about 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat.  Add onion and cook until  translucent, about 3 to 5 minutes.  Add garlic and cook for about 1 minute.  Add tomatoes, red pepper, salt, pepper, and sugar.  Cook until most of the moisture has evaporated.  Set aside.

3.  Rinse the eggplant slices and squeeze out the water.  Brush eggplant with olive oil.  At the point, the eggplants can be sauteed or grilled.  Set aside.

 

4.  Place eggplants on a baking sheet.  Top with tomato mixture and feta cheese.  Drizzle with additional olive oil.

5.  Bake in a  350°F oven until heated through, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Note:  The tomatoes and eggplants can be cooked in advance and assembled and baked later.

If you want more ways to use eggplants, check out this information from Cooking Light. 

Crostinis, Crostinis, Crostinis!

Up until a couple of years ago I had never heard of crostinis.  And now they are everywhere.  It seems that any and everything is a crostini, such as eggplants, tomatoes, sardines. 

According to The Prentice Hall Dictionary of Culinary Arts, crostini is Italian for 'little toasts' and is used to describe small, thin slices of toasted bread, usually brushed with olive oil.  Who knew!

Sicily was overflowing with crostinis.  And why not?  If you have leftover bread, why not use it to make something edible - think bread pudding.  For centuries clever cooks have turned the 'not so edible' into the 'this is delicious'. 

One crostini that we consumed while in Sicily was made with eggplants and chopped tomatoes.  Both of these plants grow extremely well in the Mediterranean.  And cooks make good use of them. 

Here is my version of Crostinis with Aubergine Tapenade.  I hope you enjoy them.  Some countries refer to eggplants as aubergines.

Crostinis with Aubergine Tapenade

Ingredients:
1 medium eggplant
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Salt and pepper, to taste
3 Roma tomatoes
Day old baguette

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 350°F.  With a sharp knife, pierce eggplant in several places.  Place on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until soft, about 1 hour. 

2.  Allow eggplant to cool.  Remove the skin and stem.  Cut eggplant into small pieces.  Add garlic, oregano, salt and pepper.  Set aside.

3.  Thinly slice the bread, on the diagonal, into
about ½-inch thick slices.  Brush with olive oil and place on a sheet pan.  Place in the oven at 350°F, until they are crisp, about 15 minutes. 

4.  Dice the tomatoes into small pieces, about ¼ inch.  Combine with eggplant mixture. 

5.  At this point, you can top the bread with the eggplant tapenade or set them out separately and allow your guest to top the bread as they desire.

As to which one I would do, it depends on how much time I have.

Eating Sicily

Sorry about not posting recently, but I was eating my way around Sicily.  We arrived in Catania, Sicily on May 20th and departed on June 2nd.  We had a wonderful trip.  To all the Sicilians who shared their culture with us, thanks.  I hope when you to travel to the US, we will show you the same hospitality. 

Over the summer, I will be sharing some of my favorite Sicilian recipes on this blog.  I had some very good and memorable foods. 

I must say Sicily had the most beautiful and biggest garlic bulbs I have ever seen.  If only I could have brought a few back to the states.

Eggplants, well, I think Sicilians have mastered using eggplants.  We saw variety after variety of eggplants.  We had eggplant lasagna, eggplant roll-ups, ricotta cheese sandwiched between eggplant slices.

Veal Involtini - essentially this is meat rolled around breadcrumbs and either fried, baked or grilled.  These were very thin slices of veal.  This dish makes good use of breadcrumbs and a small amount of meat.

 

And, finally dessert.  Most desserts tended to be lighter and refreshing. 

If you've got a favorite Mediterranean recipe, let us know.  But check back over the summer and see what is happening as a result of my trip. 

Working on My Wish List

It seems that all bloggers have a wish list.  There’s the old saying that if you can’t beat’em, join’em.   So join them I did.  I came up with my own wish list.  While some bloggers focus on things they want, (aka, gifts), I decided to focus on dishes I want to make.  At first I chose things like breads, cakes, and chocolate ice cream.  Well, my student helper spoke up, “Why, Dr. Jones, you don’t have any vegetables on your list.  You only have baking stuff”.  So I relented and decided to add some healthy vegetables to the wish.  And yes, these are vegetables that I really want to cook.

If you notice, I have crossed out a few things on my list, like chocolate ice cream and mac & cheese.  But ratatouille remained on the list.  So at the end of this gardening season, I finally got around to ratatouille.  I’m not sure why I wanted to make ratatouille.  Other than, I just did.  I suppose after seeing the movies, Ratatouille and Julia and Julie, I have become somewhat fascinated with French food. 

Ratatouille is an eggplant casserole originating in the Mediterranean.  It can be served hot or cold, as an accompaniment to meat or as an hors d’oeuvre.  I looked all over for a recipe.  I found some that grilled the vegetables, some that threw all the vegetables together in a casserole dish and allowed them to simmer.  Some that included basil and parsley and some that omitted them.  I was in a real quandary as to what to do.  Other than zucchini, tomatoes and eggplants, I knew nothing about making ratatouille.  So, I went to the ‘source’, Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking.  On page 503 of volume 1, is a recipe for ratatouille.   

Here is Julia Child’s recipe for ratatouille.  I did make a few changes.  I hope she won’t mind.

Ratatouille

Serves 6 to 8.

Ingredients:

½ pound eggplant

½ pound zucchini
1 teaspoon salt
4 Tablespoons olive oil
½ pound thinly sliced yellow onions, about 1½ cups
1 cup sliced bell pepper, preferably green
2 garlic cloves
1 pound tomatoes, peeled, about 2 cups
Salt and pepper
3 Tablespoons minced parsley

Directions:

1.     Cut eggplants into 1-inch cubes.  Set aside.  Cut zucchini into a similar size and set aside.  Toss each vegetable with ½ teaspoon salt and allow to sit for 30 minutes.  Drain and towel dry.

2.     Sauté the eggplants in olive oil, one layer at a time.  Season with salt and pepper, to taste.  Place eggplants in a bowl and set aside.  Sauté zucchini in the same manner as the eggplant.  Season with salt and pepper, to taste.  Combine eggplant and zucchini.

3.     In the same skillet, cook onions and peppers.  Stir in garlic.  Add tomatoes and cook until most of the juices have evaporated.  Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

4.     Assemble the casserole:  in a 2½ quart casserole, place ⅓ of the tomato mixture.  Sprinkle one tablespoon of parsley over tomatoes.  Arrange ½ of eggplant and zucchini mixture over tomatoes.  Place another ⅓ of tomatoes over eggplant and zucchini mixture.  Sprinkle one tablespoon of parsley over tomatoes.  Arrange remaining eggplant and zucchini mixture over tomatoes.  Place remaining tomatoes over eggplant and zucchini mixture.  Sprinkle with remaining parsley.

5.       At this point the casserole can be refrigerated until ready to cook. 

6.       To cook, place casserole in oven at 350°F.  Cook until hot.

What I Changed:

1.      I did not peel the eggplant.  Thought I might need those antioxidants in the peel. 

2.       I also used red bell pepper, since that is what I prefer.  I also cooked mine in the oven and not on a stovetop.

Eggplants

We have this thing in nutrition. We are always telling people to consume a variety of foods. Recently I have been thinking about variety and what variety really means. Here is my example. Take a stroll through the produce aisle and you will find about one of everything. In some neighborhoods, you may find two, but rarely does one find more than two varieties of anything, except maybe apples and oranges.

Eggplants are one example. There used to be one main type of eggplant – the large purple globe type. Recently, I have found the Japanese variety. These tend to be long and skinny. When visiting farmers markets and ethnic grocery stores, I am fascinated by the amount of variety of foods.

Ethnic grocery stores sell items that I long to become knowledgeable about. What can I say; I am fascinated about all things food. We usually think of eggplants as purple and glossy. Eggplants are available in a wide variety of sizes, colors and shapes. Colors of eggplant range from white to green to purple stripped. They are a member of the nightshade family, which also includes tomatoes, sweet peppers and potatoes. Botanically, the eggplant is a fruit and is classified as a berry, containing numerous small edible seeds. Most eggplants are slightly bitter with a spongy texture.

Salting and rinsing sliced eggplants is a common practice. Salting reduces the amount of bitterness. Since eggplants have a spongy texture, they are capable of absorbing oil. Salting collapses some of the cells and reduces the amount of oil absorbed. The spongy texture can be used to your advantage when making dishes with sauces, such as lasagna or moussaka.

Eggplant (Aubergine) Dip

Ingredients:

1 large eggplant, about 1 pound
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves
1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar
¼ cup chopped parsley
½ teaspoon salt
Hot pepper, to taste
1 medium tomato, finely chopped

Directions:

1. Cook eggplant, whole, in an oven or grill, until it has softened. Place in a paper bag and allow to steam. When eggplant is cool enough to handle, remove the skin.

2. Chop eggplant into small pieces. (Do not use a blender.) In a bowl, combine eggplant with the remaining ingredients.

3. If desired, a small finely chopped tomato can be added to this dish.

Notes on this recipe: There is an old saying that we eat with our eyes first. Well, those people who adhere to this philosophy will not be eating this dish. In short, this is an “ugly” dish. I do think the chopped tomatoes help. At my home we ate this as a side dish. When we “finished” eating, some of us ate the leftovers on top of bread.

Here’s another eggplant recipe. It’s perfect for the summer. Briam (Greek Roasted Vegetables) During my travels in Greece, I found this to be a very common dish. Basically, it is roasted vegetables and roasted vegetables appear to be the 'in' thing. This recipe can easily be adapted to what is in season. Traditionally, I believe this recipe is made with eggplant, zucchini and cooked in a savory tomato sauce. I even found one recipe that added feta cheese. If only, I could have found that before I made my dish. Here is my version of briam.

Briam
Serves 6.

Ingredients:
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
2 to 3 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into ¼” slices
Salt and black pepper
2 small eggplants, about 1 pound, total
2 small zucchini
1 medium onion
1 teaspoon dried oregano
4 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
1½ cups fresh tomatoes, coarsely chopped

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 450F. Toss potatoes and ¼ cup oil in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to roasting pan. Bake, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes.

2. Slice eggplants and zucchini in half lengthwise. Slice crosswise into ½” slices. Cut onion in half and each half into fourths.

3. In a large bowl, combine remaining oil, eggplant, zucchini, and onion. Add oregano and garlic. Add more salt and pepper, if desired. Add vegetables to potatoes. Stir to combine. Bake until done, about 45 minutes.

4. Add tomatoes and continue baking for another 5 to 10 minutes.

Note: I made this recipe on a gas grill. It worked perfectly. This is an easy recipe and I will make it again.

I Got the Blues…And You Should Get Them Too

Generally speaking when we get the blues, it’s not a good thing. Getting the blues is generally associated with misfortune, loss of a job, betrayal. But there’s a new blue in town. It’s call anthocyanin and it’s the blue you need to get. Anthocyanins belong to a group of chemicals referred to as flavonoids. They are responsible for the flavor and aroma of fruits and vegetables. Anthocyanins help promote good health through protection against heart disease, slowing the aging process, and the initiation and promotion of cancer.

Anthocyanins are found in blue foods such as blueberries, plums, red cabbage, eggplant, blackberries and purple grapes.

Data shows that blue foods make up only 3% of the average American’s fruit and vegetable intake. Here are a few ideas to help you increase your consumption of blue foods. Toss a few blueberries or blackberries into your morning cereal. Blend some fruit with milk or yogurt for a blue smoothie. Add a few berries to your muffin or pancake batter. Add berries to your dinner salad. And finally, just eat them. Fruits and vegetables require very little preparation and they make great snacks.

Here are a few recipes to help you get started.

Blueberry Dumplings

Serves 6 to 8.

Filling:
4 cups fresh blueberries
½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup molasses
¼ cup water
3 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon peel
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon cloves

Dumplings:
1½ cups all purpose flour
2 Tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
¾ teaspoon salt
3 Tablespoons butter, cut into cubes
¾ cup milk
Vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt

Directions:

For filling:
Mix all ingredients in a 12-inch skillet. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Reduce heat to medium; simmer until berries soften and mixture thickens slightly, about 10 minutes.

For Dumplings:
Stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Cut butter into dry ingredients until mixture resembles a fine meal. (Mixture can be prepared up to this point and refrigerated for a day or two.) Add milk; stir until just combined. You should have a very sticky dough.

Drop batter by tablespoonfuls onto simmering berry mixture, placing close together. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover skillet and simmer until dumplings are firm and tester inserted in center of dumplings comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Serve warm with ice cream or frozen yogurt.

Note: Dumplings will not brown. If you want to brown yours, place them under the broiler for a few minutes. I don’t think the dumpling gods will mind if yours have a little color. After all, the whole idea is to eat some good for you blue foods.

If you want to consume even more blue foods try these recipes:

Grilled Eggplant Stack
 http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1634738
Rustic Berry Tart - http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/rustic_berry_tart.html
Blueberry Sauce - http://www.bhg.com/recipe/desserts/blueberry-sauce/
Summer Berry Crisp- http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Summer-Berry-Crisp-240846