Category: eggplant

Creamy Chopped Eggplant Dip

I have a long-held fascination with eggplant.

It all started with food television. Growing up, I watched in awe as chefs prepared this strange, spongy vegetable. Sometimes they roasted it and sometimes they fried it. Either way, I just knew that someday I would love eggplant and I was right.

Eggplant just wasn’t a vegetable that appeared on my family’s table. . . or any other family that we visited’s tables. I didn’t see it at church picnics or soccer team potlucks. Maybe eggplant has become more popular in the kitchens of the Twin Cities’ southern ‘burbs. It’s so good and so versatile.

Earlier this year, I watched the episode of Trisha Yearwood’s (my childhood hero) cooking show on Food Network in which Nadia Comaneci and Bart Conner were special guests. Nadia prepared this simple eggplant dip called Salata de Vinete that caught my eye. I whipped together this dip based upon what I remembered seeing her prepare during this episode.

Jake and I liked the dip so much that it’s already gone. After we enjoyed it for dinner, I polished off the leftovers for breakfast and am contemplating preparing a second batch.

Creamy Chopped Eggplant Dip
Adapted from Nadia Comaneci’s recipe for Salata de Vinete. Use as many eggplants as you like. I’d recommend small-medium sized eggplants so they’ll roast faster and have smaller seeds, but use what you have. 

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Ingredients:
Eggplant
Olive oil
Salt
Onion, finely diced (as much as you like)
Garlic, powdered or freshly grated
Salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
Mayonnaise (can substitute greek yogurt or sour cream).
Lemon juice, to taste
Dill, dried or fresh
Smoked paprika or my favorite – half sharp Hungarian paprika, a dash or two

Instructions:

  1. Pre-heat oven to 400℉.
  2. Wash eggplants. Prick several times with a fork or knife so they don’t explode while baking. Rub with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.
  3. Roast eggplants until they are soft inside and blistered outside. Flip a few times during cooking. This will take about 40-minutes for small eggplants and longer if they are larger.
  4. When the eggplants are cool enough to handle, peel off the skin and remove the stem. Let any liquid drain away from the eggplant.
  5. Chop into small pieces. If you want a smoother texture, chop finer.
  6. Combine chopped eggplant with red onion and a couple dollops of mayonnaise. Start with a little bit of each and add as needed.
  7. Season with garlic powder or grated garlic, paprika, salt, pepper, dill and lemon juice, to taste.
  8. Serve with toasted pita bread.

Simple eggplant lunch

I swear, our weeks are filled with more than gyro kits, egg foo young, and tacos. . . mostly.  I alluded to my long-standing eggplant fixation in my post discussing On’s Thai Kitchen:

Jeni’s spontaneous sauteed eggplant with goat cheese and balsamic reduction

Ingredients
– Fresh eggplant (the large ones can taste more bitter and have larger seeds).
– 1 egg per eggplant
– Splash of milk
– Flour or flour substitute
– Fresh cracked black pepper, sea salt, white pepper, paprika, cayenne (garlic powder would be nice).
– Olive oil
– Goat cheese (I used Capra goat cheese with honey from the Wedge).
– Balsamic vinegar

Directions

  • Slice a small eggplant into quarter-inch rounds.
  • Dust the eggplant slices in flour seasoned with white pepper, black pepper, sea salt, cayenne and paprika.
  • Drag the floured eggplant slices through a wet mixture of egg, beaten with a splash of milk.
  • Saute eggplant in a preheated pan coated in extra virgin olive oil, on both sides, until golden brown and tender. Salt to taste and rest on paper towels.
  • While eggplant is sauteeing, reduce a cheaper balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan until thick and syrupy.  I reduced on a low heat and used Lund’s house brand balsamic.
  • Place a dollop of goat cheese on each eggplant round and drizzle with the reduced balsamic vinegar.
  • Serve along with toasted pita bread and sliced beets.

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