Notes: Eggplant or Aubergine as I always knew it, has been one of those vegetables that is so often badly cooked, under cooked or under seasoned. I tend to discard one that also have a huge excess of seed as they seem to taste very bitter, salting the meat can defiantly help pull out some of the more bitter juices, to salt the meat just toss it in a couple of teaspoons of salt then place it in a colander, put a couple of plates on top to weight it down, leave for half an hour. Then rinse of all the excess salt and pat the meat dry. I really like some of the smaller Japanese varieties, but sadly they are no often available in grocery stores, but there is often a great variety at farmers markets during the season.
Ingredients: Tomato sauce
1 large onion finely chopped
2 cloves garlic chopped
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp crushed cumin
1 tsp crushed allspice
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 golden raisins
2 cups strained and chopped canned tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 cup whole mint and cilantro leaves
1/2 cup natural yogurt
salt and pepper
1 lb of eggplant cut into 1 inch disks.
1/4 extra virgin olive oil
pinch salt and pepper.
Toss the eggplant in with the 1/4 cup of oil salt and pepper, place on a roasting tray in a 450 degree pre-heated oven roast for about 10 minuets or until golden brown, remove form the oven and add to the tomato sauce cook together for about 5 minuets then add the chopped herbs, check seasoning adding salt and pepper if needed, remove and leave to cool, I find this dish great if it is left over night, it seems to just relax a little.
To serve remove from the fridge if you can 1 hour before serving so it comes to room temp, place in a large bowl and lightly stir in the yogurt, and whole cilantro and mint leaves. Serve with grilled bread, or as a side to grilled fish and meats.
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