Article
November 17, 2011
by Stefanie Paulson

Roasted Eggplant

Roasted EggplantThe eggplant season is in full swing. And let me tell you, they are beautiful! I have always liked eggplant, but honestly they can be a little expensive in the states. I also never really used them to make too much outside of Italian food. An eggplant parmesan here and there was generally the extent of my eggplant usage. But when I learned I could get a couple pounds for about 3EC, I decided I needed to branch out.

I wanted to use up some eggplant as a side dish for a simple weeknight dinner so I suddenly realized I should give roasting a try. I found a sweet, simple recipe online and gave it a try. I proceeded to fall in love with my new roasted eggplant discovery.

What You Need:

A few eggplants
2-3 cloves of garlic
olive oil
salt and pepper 

All you need to do is slice the garlic cloves into thin chips and then slice the eggplant into about 1-1.5″ thick slices. Arrange them into a lightly sprayed baking dish or baking sheet, brush the eggplant slices with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Then press into each eggplant slice one (or a few) garlic chips. Then place it into a nice hot oven (somewhere around 400 degrees or so) and roast for about 15 minutes or until soft and golden brown.

The roasting highlights how buttery and sweet the eggplant is and the garlic tastes oh so good. And if you are looking for a fun alternative or want to add some extra flavor, I also tried adding a light drizzle with balsamic vinegar before roasting with great results.

Enjoy!

Article
November 11, 2011
by Stefanie Paulson

Quick and Easy Eggplant Parmesan

Eggplant is everywhere here these days. Neither Tyler nor I would have expected eggplant to be a local produced item here, but it is and it is cheap and delicious! So, we have taken to eating a lot of eggplant these days, mixed into pastas, roasted, on a sandwich, you name it. One of my favorite dishes is eggplant parmesan, but the way I generally make it is a bit time consuming. The breading and the frying and then baking takes a bit too much time for my med student schedule when my hopes are to come home from class and get dinner on the table in 30 minutes or so if I can. So I invented a quick and easy version that tastes almost as good as the real thing.

What you Need:

Eggplant
Fresh Basil
Tomato Sauce
Parmesan Cheese
Mozarella Cheese
Dried Thyme
Ground Pepper
Sea Salt
Olive Oil

So what I do is just chop up the eggplant into some bite-sized pieces and saute in a really hot pan with just a touch of olive oil. Eggplant tends to absorb oil and get mushy or oily fast, but I found that a really hot pan with just a touch of oil and some salt and pepper. I found the the eggplant gets crispy on the outside and soft and sweet on the inside. Then coat a baking dish with some pasta sauce, add some freshly chopped basil, add eggplant, add more basil, cover in sauce, then top with cheese and pop it in the oven. I generally shoot for an oven somewhere around 350 degrees. After about 20 minutes and the sauce is all bubbly and the cheese golden brown, it is ready for some eating. Serve over some pasta for the perfect quick dinner. Enjoy!

**Sorry I don’t have any photos of the making, my camera battery charger got shot in the move and I didn’t have my new charger yet. It is okay, trust me, it looks and tastes amazing!