Tag Archives: eggplant recipe

Let’s Hear It For Wrinkles

Creamy roasted eggplant gets dressed with yogurt and Calabrian chili.
Creamy roasted eggplant gets dressed with yogurt and Calabrian chili.

Like many women, I bemoan the fine lines around my eyes and forehead that have come with age (and wisdom, I might add).

While I may not be fond of them on my face, I rejoice in wrinkles whole heartily when it comes to cooked eggplant.

Specifically, long-cooked eggplant that gets a little shriveled, signaling the interior has taken on that coveted custardy texture.

That’s exactly what “Whole-Roasted Eggplant with Calabrian Chili Crisp” delivers.

The recipe is from the new cookbook, “Let’s Eat” (Union Square), of which I received a review copy.

It’s by New York’s Dan Pelosi, who calls himself the “Italian meatball” behind the popular Instagram account, GrossyPelosi, and Food52’s YouTube video series, “The Secret Sauce.”

Read more

Miso Pork Stuffed Eggplant

Eggplant cups stuffed with a savory pork and eggplant mixture.
Eggplant cups stuffed with a savory pork and eggplant mixture.

As someone who keeps a bare minimum of apps on her phone, I admit that Kitchen Stories was new to me.

The app was founded in 2014 by two business students with a penchant for cooking. They bill Kitchen Stories as the first video-based, design-oriented cooking app.

Now, the two have come full circle with a Kitchen Stories cookbook, “Anyone Can Cook” (Prestel), of which I received a review copy.

In the cookbook, the app team, based in Berlin, offer up a globally-inspired array of recipes such as “Glass Noodle Salad with Lemongrass Dressing,” “Spicy Chickpea Burgers,” “Savory Dutch Baby with Smoked Salmon and Horseradish,” and “Rigatoni with Walnut-Ricotta Pesto.”

I decided to give it a whirl with “Miso Pork Stuffed Eggplant,” which reminded me of an oversized version of a dim sum specialty.

Read more

Hugh Acheson’s Roasted Eggplant with Tahini, Pomegranate, Parsley, and Pecans

A perfect technique for eggplant, courtesy of Hugh Acheson.
A perfect technique for eggplant, courtesy of Hugh Acheson.

You know that perfect eggplant consistency, where it’s so supple, it’s almost like custard?

It’s not always easy to achieve that texture.

But thanks to James Beard Award-winning chef Hugh Acheson, there’s a fool-proof method that will not only render it with that exquisite consistency but give it an edge of smokiness, too. And all without a grill.

Just put the whole eggplant in a 425-degree oven and let it do its thing for 45 minutes or so. It will emerge sublime.

That’s one of the techniques showcased in the new cookbook, “How to Cook: Building Blocks and 100 Simple Recipes for a Lifetime of Meals” (Clarkson Potter) by Acheson of “Top Chef” fame, who owns three restaurants in Georgia.

Acheson made sure his two daughters knew how to cook before they went off to college. In this book, of which I received a review copy, he showcases the foundational building blocks that every home-cook ought to master, such as knowing the proper way to cook rice, beans, poach an egg, make vinaigrette, pan-fried fish and roast chicken.

Read more

Grilled Eggplant with Spicy Asian Dressing

Grilled eggplant dressed up with a quick soy sauce-serrano dressing.

Grilled eggplant dressed up with a quick soy sauce-serrano dressing.

 

In the Bay Area, we are blessed to be able to grill outdoors nearly year-round.

Heck, even my husband has been known to grill in the rain.

One of my favorite grilled veggies is eggplant because it takes to being smoke-kissed so well. And its texture turns nearly custardy.

“Eggplant with Spicy Asian Dressing” is a quick and easy dish to enjoy at this time of year when eggplants of all sizes are showing up at farmers markets.

It’s from the new cookbook, “Weber’s Greatest Hits” (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) by master griller Jamie Purviance, of which I received a review copy.

Webersgreatesthits

The cookbook contains 125 recipes culled from the more than 2,500 that Purviance has developed over the years for Weber. His greatest hits are tried-and-true dishes such as “Peach and Blue Cheese Bruschetta Drizzled with Honey,” “Curried Lamb Chops with Yogurt Sauce” and “Pineapple Upside-Down Cake.”

Read more

April Bloomfield’s “If-It-Ain’t-Broke Eggplant Caponata”

Eggplant, tomatoes, olives, pine nuts and a whole lot of love.

Eggplant, tomatoes, olives, pine nuts and a whole lot of love.

 

She may be most know for her gutsy nose-to-tail cooking. But celebrated New York Chef April Bloomfield wants you to know she’s equally equipped with root-to-shoot flair.

Her first cookbook, “A Girl and Her Pig” (Ecco, 2012) may have been meat-centric. But her follow-up, “A Girl and Her Greens: Hearty Meals from the Garden” (Ecco), decidedly puts the emphasis smack dab on a cornucopia of seasonal fruits and vegetables.

Bloomfield is the award-winning chef-owner of The Spotted Pig, The Breslin, and The John Dory Oyster Bar, all in New York, as well as Tosca Cafe in San Francisco. She was also the star of season 2 of “The Mind of A Chef.”

In her cookbook, of which I received a review copy, she offers up dishes that home-cooks can actually make. That includes delights such as “Asparagus Quiches with Mint,” “Roasted Young Onions with Sage Pesto,” and “Sweet Corn Ice Cream with Butterscotch.”

a girl and her greens

With stands at my local farmers market piled high with brilliant purple eggplants at this time of year, I was drawn to Bloomfield’s recipe for “If-It-Ain’t-Broke Eggplant Caponata.”

Read more