Lentil soup with roasted tomatoes and eggplant

With the weather turning colder today, a soup sounds nice. I pulled the last of my eggplant from the garden and I easily have the three pounds of tomatoes sitting on my counter. We got a nice bunch of kale this week, more than last week, so it will be going into the soup as well. I found this recipe on line at Nourished Kitchen.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups green lentils, picked over and rinsed well
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 3 lbs heirloom tomatoes, halved and seeded
• 1 lb eggplant, any variety, peeled and cubed
• 2 tablespoons unrefined extra virgin olive oil , plus extra to serve
• 2 tablespoons clarified butter/ghee
• 1 medium yellow onion, peeled and sliced thin
• 3 ribs celery, sliced thin
• 1 teaspoon powdered mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 quarts roast chicken stock or filtered water
• 1 bunch kale, trimmed and coarsely chopped

1. Pour lentils into a large mixing bowl and cover with hot water by two inches.  Stir in vinegar, cover with a kitchen towel, and allow the lentils to soak for eight to twelve hours.  After they’ve soaked for eight to twelve hours, drain off the water and rinse them well.
2. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.  Arrange tomatoes and eggplant on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and roast at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for about thirty minutes or until the tomatoes begin to caramelize.
3. Melt ghee in a heavy-bottomed stock pot and stir in onion and celery. Fry the them in ghee until it softens and becomes translucent, six to eight minutes, then stir in mustard, cumin and coriander.
4. Pour chicken stock into the pot over the onions and stir in soaked lentils. Ad the bay leaves. Cover and simmer until the lentils are tender, about twenty minutes.  Once the lentils are tender, stir in roasted tomatoes and eggplant and continue simmering, covered, for a further twenty to twenty-five minutes.
5. After twenty to twenty-five minutes, turn off the heat, stir in the kale and cover.  Allow the kale to wilt under in the ambient heat of the soup.  Season the soup to taste with unrefined sea salt, coarsely ground black pepper, and additional olive oil.

YIELD: about 8 servings | TIME: 8 to 12 hours (soaking), 30 minutes (oven), 45 minutes (stovetop)

**This soup is really good! I'll be making it again. Next time, if I don't have eggplant, I'll substitute mushrooms. 

Thai eggplant and sweet potato curry

What an interesting idea of pairing eggplant and sweet potatoes. I found this recipe online. I have modified it below (after cooking it).


1 1/2 C pearl or hulled barley OR brown rice
2 tsp oil
1 onion (chopped)
2 tbsp green curry paste (depending on your paste- you may need to add more chili)
2 eggplants (cut into small chunks)
1 1/2 C light coconut milk
2 C vegetable stock
6 kaffir lime (leaves)
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
1 tsp brown sugar (soft)
2 tbsp lime juice
2 tsp lime zest (grated)


Rinse & drain the barley. Fill a large saucepan with 5 cups water and add barley. Bring to the boil then
reduce heat. Simmer for 25-30 minutes, or until tender. Drain.OR cook in pressure cooker for 13 minutes.

While barley is cooking, heat oil in large wok (or frying pan) then add curry paste and onion. Cook, stirring,
over medium heat for 3 minutes.

Pour in stock. Add sweet potatoes and cook for a further 10 minutes, or until starting to get soft.

Add coconut milk and eggplant. Simmer for 10-15 minutes. Add the lime leaves and simmer for 5 more minutes or until the eggplant and sweet potatoes have reached the consistency you like.

Finally, mix in the sugar, lime juice and lime zest. Combine well. Season with salt & pepper, to taste, then serve over barley or rice.

**Such an interesting melding of flavors! I thought this dish was very tasty! I forgot to take the picture until we were almost finished! Sorry. This photo comes from http://www.juliegoodwin.com.au and looks pretty similar to this recipe.

Still looking for great eggplant dishes...Found this recipe on The Wednesday Chef site. I will double the recipe.

Smoked Aubergine Crush
Serves 4

1 1-lb eggplant
2 tablespoons oil
1/2 teaspoon black mustard seeds
1 onion, chopped
1 3/4-inch piece ginger root, peeled and finely chopped (about 1 tablespoon chopped)
1 teaspoon finely chopped red chile (jalapeno or serrano, seeded), or more to taste
1 teaspoon finely chopped green chile (jalapeno or serrano, seeded), or more to taste
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 cup coconut milk
2 teaspoons lemon juice
Salt
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro for garnish (optional, in my opinion)
A few slivers red chile for garnish

1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Pierce the eggplant on each side with the tines of a fork and bake for 50 minutes, or until very tender. Remove from the oven and cool. When cool enough to handle, halve it lengthwise, scoop out the flesh and blend or process it to a puree.

2. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a saucepan. Add the mustard seeds and cover immediately to prevent the seeds from popping out of the pan. When the mustard seeds pop, add the onion and cook until translucent. Then add the ginger and chopped chiles and cook for 2 minutes.

3. Reduce the heat and add the turmeric, followed by the pureed eggplant. Cook, stirring, over low heat for 15 minutes. Add the coconut milk and stir 2 minutes. Add the lemon juice and salt to taste. Serve hot, garnished with chile (and cilantro, if using).

**The picture doesn't do it justice. I thought it had a great flavor. I used 1 one of the LPO hot peppers and one LPO roasted green chiles. I used the red onions from the basket. The sweet bite of the onions against the spiciness of this dish was wonderful.

Grilled eggplant topped with caprese

While I was looking through local food IQ, I ran across this recipe. It is from Dave DeWitt's column, Playing with Fire.

Grilled Eggplants Topped with Caprese 
Eggplants come in a variety of shapes and sizes and this year I planted the long and slender Japanese eggplants, so I’m going to have to slice them in half lengthwise to grill them. Caprese is usually a salad with mozzarella cheese, but here it’s going to be a dressing for the grilled eggplant slices.

For the caprese:
1 Large ripe tomato, seeded and minced
5 oz. Mozzarella cheese, cut into a 1/4-inch dice
8 Fresh basil leaves, minced
2 Tbsp. Olive oil
2 Tbsp. Fresh lemon or lime juice
Salt and pepper to taste
For the eggplants:
4 Small Japanese eggplants, sliced lengthwise (peeling optional)
2 Tbsp. Coarse sea salt
3 Tbsp. Olive oil
3 tsp. Fresh oregano, minced
1 tsp. Coarsely ground black pepper
1 tsp. Hot red chile flakes
3 cloves Garlic, minced
3 Tbsp. Italian parsley, minced

To make the caprese, combine the tomato, mozzarella, basil, olive oil and salt and pepper in a bowl and set aside in the refrigerator until needed. After the eggplant is grilled, add the lemon or lime juice and gently mix everything together.

To prepare the eggplants, sprinkle the salt over the eggplant slices and let stand for 30 minutes. Rinse the slices and dry with paper towels. In a bowl, combine the oregano, black pepper, chile flakes, garlic and parsley. Brush olive oil over both sides of the slices and sprinkle them with the mixed spices.

Grill the eggplant slices over medium heat for five to eight minutes per side, depending on their thickness, then remove from the grill and transfer to a serving plate. Allow the slices to cool to room temperature, top with the caprese dressing and serve.

Yield: 4 servings • Heat scale: Medium

**This was delicious!

Eggplant, Green Olive and Provolone Pizza

I saw this on another blogger's site called The Noshery.

• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 1/4 pound eggplant, cut into 3/4-inch-thick rounds
• 1 pound store-bought pizza dough at room temperature
• 5 ounces sliced provolone, cut into short thin matchsticks (1 1/4 cups)
• 18 pitted green olives, coarsely chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

Stir together garlic and oil. Brush some of garlic oil on both sides of eggplant and season with salt and pepper. Broil, turning once, until tender, 4 to 6 minutes total. Cut into roughly 1-inch pieces.

Stretch dough into about a 12- by 10-inch rectangle on a large baking sheet and lightly brush with garlic oil. Bake in the oven at 375 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes, until underside begins to get golden-brown. Brush top with more garlic oil, scatter cheese , eggplant and olives over crust. Slide pizza from sheet onto oven rack and bake  for 15 minutes, until done and cheese has melted.

Here the eggplant has been brushed with olive oil into which I put a teaspoon of garlic oil. I bought the garlic oil at the Santa Fe Farmer's market.

The finished pizza. Delicious! We forgot to add the parsley. We used a jar of Spanish green olives that I bought from Cost Plus World Market. I made the pizza dough with spelt flour.

Eggplant baked with tomatoes and cheese

This is similar to eggplant parmesan, but without the bread and eggs. It is a delicious gluten-free version! It is easy to make and could be even easier if you choose to not make your own tomato sauce and substitute a high quality tomato pasta sauce. Try as I may, I could not find this recipe on-line- although there are hundreds of other versions to choose from. My recipe is a copy from a cookbook, page 60, the summer chapter.

4 large eggplants, about 2 1/2 lbs
1/2 C sunflower oil (I use much less)
1/2 C freshly grated parmesan cheese (can also use cheddar)

For the Sauce:
3 T olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2- 14 oz cans tomatoes (can use fresh or frozen)
1 t tomato paste
1/2 t sugar
1/2 t dried oregano
2-3 T chopped fresh flat leaf parsley


Trim the eggplant and cut lengthways into 1/2" slices. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry the slices briefly in batches. Lift out as soon as they are golden on both sides and drain on kitchen paper.

Arrange the eggplant slices in 2 layers in a baking dish. (I use a smaller dish- so mine has more layers) Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Make the sauce. Heat the oil gently in a large pan, add the garlic and saute for a few seconds, then add the tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar and oregano and season to taste. Cover and simmer for 25-30 minutes or until the sauce is thick and velvety, stirring occasionally. Stir in the parsley and cook for 2-3 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350. Spread the sauce over the aubergines to cover them. Sprinkle the cheese on top and bake for 40 minutes.

**Delicious. Mine is a bit runny because I used my frozen tomatoes from last year's garden.

Eggplant in date sauce

My Japanese eggplants are ready to harvest! We'll be getting eggplant soon from the CSA. This dish comes from the World Food Cafe cookbook. This is a recipe that I have not tried.

Eggplant in Date Sauce

Serves 4-6

4 tablespoons oil
3 red onions, thinly sliced
1 small globe eggplant (1 pound), cubed
Salt to taste
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1 cup vegetable stock
3/4 cup dates, pitted
juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon rose water
Water as needed

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat and sauté the onions until they are soft. Add the eggplant and sprinkle it with a little salt to prevent it from absorbing all the oil and drying out. Sauté, stirring constantly, until the eggplant is browned. Add the spices and sauté for 1 minute. Add the stock and simmer slowly for about 10 minutes. In a food processor, purée the dates with the lemon juice and rose water, adding enough water to make a creamy paste. Add this paste to the eggplant, stir in, and serve.

**OK- I'm not sure how they serve this in Oman- but I don't think it looks particularly appetizing. However, it was good- a bit mushy and a bit sweet. It didn't turn my husband into an eggplant lover, however. I'm not sure I'd cook it again. Oh- I didn't use the rose water.