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Posts Tagged ‘aubergine/eggplant’

Grilled aubergine rounds with two cheeses and a tomato topping

Posted in Food, other sides to this life, Recipes, tagged , , on July 24, 2013| 11 Comments »

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Scrabbling around for a starter to serve Friday week at the Garlic Festival lunch–and with three aubergines sitting looking at me expectantly, I got to flicking through some well-thumbed pages.

The idea for rounds came from Antonio Carluccio’s Vegetables cook book.

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The key ingredients, doubling as casino counters!

So…

for 2 (on the 2nd, I’m upping the ante and cooking for 22!)

1 largish aubergine–cut across in half inch slices, salted and left to drain for at least an hour

2 ripe tomatoes of similar circumference–sliced a little finer

6oz/150gms feta cheese–crumbled

a few fresh leaves of basil, parsley and mint–chopped together

parmesan cheese–grated

olive oil

salt and pepper

heat the oven to 220C/430F

Cover an oven tray with foil and brush it with oil.

Brush both sides of the aubergine rounds with olive olive and lay them out on the foiled tray.

Place the tray in the uppermost part of the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes until they are thoroughly cooked through and soft.

Add the chopped herbs to the feta and using a teaspoon, spread a little on each cooked aubergine round.

Sprinkle the tomato slices with a pinch of salt and little olive oil.

Lay one on each aubergine round and top them off with a pinch of the grated parmesan.

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Return the tray to the top of the oven and cook for a further 15 to 20 minutes.

Take them out when the tomato has a melted look and the parmesan has browned a little.

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Serve them straight away or at room temperature.

Increase the odds of a wow–with a leaf of basil or other herb–if you have any.

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Post no. 300!–Aubergine/eggplant slices with a walnut and garlic spread…

Posted in Food, other sides to this life, Recipes, tagged , , , , , on June 8, 2012| 19 Comments »

…from the Starters and Light Lunches section of Delicious Dishes for Diabetics:

This tasty seasonal starter is useful for company it as you can prepare it beforehand–it makes regular appearances through the summer.

(A couple of ripe cherry tomatoes will add colour to the plate in a month or so.)

Serves 4

2 large aubergines

salt
2 tbsp olive oil
2–3 tbsp wine vinegar

Sauce:

3–4 cloves of garlic – crushed with a little salt
60 g/2 oz walnuts – shelled; if you do this yourself, take care that no pieces of shell get left with the kernel.

a handful chopped parsley

  • Wash and cut the aubergines lengthwise into 1.5 cm/1/2 inch slices.
  • Salt them slightly and put them in a colander for an hour or so, to drain off some of their bitter juice.
  • Dry them thoroughly and brush generously with olive oil on both sides.

Heat the oven at 240°C/475°F/Gas Mark 9.

  • Put the aubergines on well-oiled foil in a shallow oven tray.
  • Cook them in the oven for about 20 minutes to brown them, turning after 10 minutes.
  • While the aubergines are in the oven, make the sauce.
  • Mix the crushed garlic with a tablespoon of olive oil.
  • Chop the walnuts in a processor or pound them in a pestle and mortar.
  • Combine these two ingredients with the parsley in a bowl and add another tablespoon of oil.
  • Mix well and check for salt.
  • Take the aubergines out of the oven, put them on a serving plate, brush with the vinegar and spread the delicious sauce on top.
  • Serve warm or room temperature.

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