Asian Style Eggplant

Original recipe from The Delicious Crescent - I love that you can use regular eggplant! 

This is a great side dish for Asian style bowls and meals.

Asian Style Eggplant

Ingredients

1 pound eggplant Italian, Japanese or globe variety, medium size

¼ teaspoon salt some will be wiped out

4 tablespoons sesame oil divided

1 tablespoons sesame seeds toasted

1 tablespoon ginger peeled and minced

2 cloves garlic grated, optional

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes mild or chopped red chili pepper

½ teaspoon paprika try smoked paprika, optional

2 tablespoons soy sauce low sodium, adjust per taste

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1 teaspoon maple syrup or sugar

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

2 tablespoons chopped green onions

Salt adjust per soy sauce

Method

Preheat oven to 425F.

Wash the eggplant, wipe it dry and cut it into ¾ inch slices. 

Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper (I use silicon baking mats which are reusable and easy to clean!)

Pat dry eggplant with paper towels to remove any excess moisture. 

Slice into 1/3" rounds and brush the slices evenly with about 2 tablespoons oil. 

Arrange eggplant in a single layer.

Bake until fork tender for about 30 to 35 minutes.

Remove from oven and allow to cool to room temperature.

In a saute pan, heat remaining oil at medium high. Add sesame seeds and toast lightly. 

Add ginger, garlic and stir then add red pepper flakes and paprika. 

Turn off the heat and let the spices steep in oil for 2 minutes, until they release some color. 

Stir in soy sauce, vinegar and maple syrup.

Add roasted eggplant, green onions, cilantro and toss well to coat. 

Serve with steamed rice. I used as part of an Asian style bowl for lunch prep.

Traditional Ratatouille

This recipe comes from the classic Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Ratatouille is a traditional French dish made of just vegetables and is traditionally used as a side or accompaniment for bland meats but for us vegans it is lovely with rice, potatoes or pasta or just as side dish. I'm planning on using my left overs for lasagne (just add bechamel sauce) or Ratatouille Quiche. With traditional ratatouille you need to cook all the vegetables separately so that when you layer them in the casserole dish they retain all their own flavors. That being said it's not a quick dish to make, it takes time but luckily it only gains in flavor overnight so it can be made in advance and then reheated. It can be served hot or cold. I replaced the zucchini with yellow squash because I had some on hand.

Traditional Ratatouille

Ingredients (in stages)

1lb eggplant (around 1 large)
1lb zucchini (around 3 medium)
1 tsp salt
4 Tbls olive oil

1/2 lb yellow onion, thinly sliced (around 1 1/2 cups)
2 sliced peppers (around 1 cup)
Olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 lb ripe tomatoes (around 5 medium)
salt and pepper

3Tbls mince parsley
Salt & pepper to taste


Method

Step One
Peel eggplant and slice into 2"x1"x1" rectangles.
Scrub zucchinis and slice in the same way.
Place both in a large bowl and sprinkle with salt and leave for 30 minutes.

Step Two
Onto a non-stick/cast iron skillet add around 2-3 Tbls olive oil and heat the onion and peppers on a low-medium setting for 5-10 minutes to get soft but not brown.

While they are heating up boil your tomatoes in water for 10 seconds to soften the skin. Remove and slice skin in an X at the base and peel away the skin then de-seed.

Slice the tomato pulp and add on top of the onion mixture allowing a couple of minutes for the juices to flow down.

Cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and season with salt & pepper.
Remove to a separate dish and place 1/3 of the mixture into a stove proof casserole dish that has a lid. Sprinkle with 1/3 the parsley. Reuse pan for the eggplant and zucchini.

Step Three
Take the eggplant and zucchini out of the bowl where they should have sweat out some of their liquid. Place singly between two paper or kitchen towels to remove the excess liquid.

(Since you need to do this in batches I found it easier to do one vegetable at a time because I had two batches of each vegetable so it worked perfectly because you need to do two layers of these vegetables in the casserole dish.)
Add the olive oil to the skillet and on a low-medium heat sear the vegetables on both sides then add half of eggplant and zucchini onto the onion mixture in the casserole dish.

Step Four
Add second layer of 1/3 onion mix to casserole dish and sprinkle with 1/3 of parsley.
Add last layer of zucchini and eggplant.
Top with last layer of onion mix and sprinkle with last Tbls of parsley.
Cover and simmer on a low heat for 20 minutes or until vegetables are soft. You want to check often to make sure the mix isn't sticking at the bottom and that the juices are being eveny distributed.
Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve!

Ginger and Tamarind Spicy Eggplant

I got this recipe from Good Chef Bad Chef and I changed it a bit but the original recipe is here. It is a really tasty tangy eggplant Indian style dish. Serve with rice and papadums.

Ginger and Tamarind Spicy Eggplant
Serves 2 as a main


Ingredients

1 eggplants
3 tbsp safflower oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tsp coriander, ground
½ tsp cinnamon, ground
pinch of ground cloves or mixed spice
½ cup flaked coconut
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (or more to taste)
½ tsp sea salt
1 tbsp tamarind paste
2 tbsp molasses, brown or demura sugar
½ tsp black mustard powder

Ginger-Tamarind Sauce
½ tbsp tamarind paste
1 tsp corn flour made into a slurry with ½ cup water
1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated

Peel the eggplant and chop into pieces. Heat in oven at 180C for 30-40mins.
Heat 2 tbsp of the oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat for 1 min.
Add the garlic and fry for 30 sec.
Add the coriander, cinnamon, and cloves; fry for 15 more sec.
Stir in the coconut and cayenne pepper; continue frying, stirring, until lightly toasted (about 2 min). Turn off the heat and stir in the mustard powder, salt, tamarind and molasses, and mix well.
Add the eggplants to the spicy coconut mixture and leave on a low heat, stirring often until sauce is ready.
For the Ginger Tamarind sauce place the tamarind in a pot with the corn four slurry then bring to a simmer for 2 min. Turn off heat and stir in ginger shreds.
Pour sauce into eggplant mixture and serve.

Eggplant Lasagne

I got this recipe from Fat Free Vegan. I recommend grilling or roasting the eggplant first because cooking it took much longer than the original recipe said.

Eggplant Lasagne


Ingredients

1 eggplant
salt for sprinkling on eggplant
250g frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry (or fresh)
350g firm tofu
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
1  tsp oregano
1 cloves garlic
1 tsp basil
1 tsp. salt (eliminate if following a salt-free diet)
dash cayenne pepper
1 500g jar of spaghetti sauce (or your favorite homemade sauce)


Method

Cut each eggplant lengthwise into very thin, even, 1/2cm slices.
Sprinkle each slice with salt and place it in a colander to drain for 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, rinse each slice briefly and press with a paper towel to remove all the moisture.
While the eggplant is draining, preheat the oven to 200C.
Place the tofu and thawed spinach in the food processor and remaining ingredients–except the eggplant and sauce–to the processor and blend until smooth.
Spread a thin layer of the sauce in the bottom of a oven pan (spraying the pan first with non-stick spray will help prevent sticking).
Place a layer of eggplant over the sauce, covering the entire bottom of the pan.
Spread half of the tofu mixture on the eggplant.
Cover with another layer of  eggplant and then spread the remaining tofu mixture over it.
Top with a final layer of eggplant, and pour the remaining sauce over this.
Cover with foil and bake for  30 minutes; remove the foil and bake for 10-20 more minutes, until eggplant is tender.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.

NOTE:  The thinner your eggplant slices, the less time your lasagna will need to bake. Consider pre-cooking it in a non-stick skillet or on a baking sheet in the oven until lightly browned.

Baked Falafel with Baba Ghanoush

This is a recipe from family member and it's sooo yummy. Obviously you can fry the falafel if you prefer.

Baked Falafel


Ingredients

2 425g cans chick peas, washed & drained
3 Tbls olive oil
1 red onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic
3 Tbls parsley, chopped
3 Tbls coriander, chopped
3 Tbls GF plain flour
1 Tbls chili powder (this just gives them a little kick, not too spicy but omit if you don't want spice)
1 1/2 Tsp salt
1 Tbls lemon juice
1 Tbls cumin
1/2 tsp baking powder


Method

Preheat oven to 200˚C. Spray mini muffin tray with oil.
Process chickpeas in a food processor and then add all remaining ingredients until smooth.
Shape into balls and place in mini muffin cup.
Bake for 40mins, turning after 20mins.and pressing down.
Tip out onto paper towel and allow to cool slightly.

Baba Ghanoush


Ingredients

2 Eggplants (around 1kg)
1 clove garlic
2/3 cup tahini
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 tsp salt
1tbls parsley (preferably flat leaf)


Method

Place whole eggplants over a gas flame grill BBQ until blackened and softened, turning often. Alternatively place in a 220˚C oven for 40mins, turning regularly.

If you bake in the oven you won't get the smoky flavour so you can add a dash or two of liquid smoke.
Peel the eggplant and place flesh and all ingredients into a food processor and blend until smooth. Omit parsley if you prefer to stir in afterwards for presentation.
Serve with a sprinkle of paprika and a drizzle of olive oil.