What To Do With Eggplant

Not everyone likes eggplant.  Ron, for one, won't eat it, so all the beautiful eggplant I picked at Suzie's Farm in September was either given away, or incorporated into a few recipes that only I ate.  I made two delicious recipes, one an eggplant/pepper/onion dip that was healthy and delicious, and the other, a ratatouille made from peppers, onions and eggplant that was delicious.  I just stumbled across this recipe, and wished I had had it when I had all that eggplant.  What a delicious, healthy sandwich, using the eggplant slices as bread.  It's a little messy to eat, as you must be sure to cook the eggplant all the way through, so I suggest a fork.  This recipe was on the Cabot website, hence their referral to using Cabot cheese.  Obviously you can substitute with anything you have available. Enjoy.

 

 

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Ingredients:

2 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon minced fresh oregano or thyme
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 large eggplant (1 1/2 pounds total)
4 ounces Cabot Sharp Cheddar, grated (about 1 cup)
1 cup diced vine-ripened tomatoes

Directions:
1. Chop garlic; sprinkle with salt and mash into puree with blade of knife held sideways. Scrape garlic-salt mixture into small bowl.

2. Add oil, oregano and pepper and stir until garlic-salt mixture is well blended.

3. Preheat gas or charcoal grill to medium.

4. Cut off and discard thin lengthwise slice from each side of eggplant; cut remaining eggplant lengthwise into about six slices, each about 1/2-inch-thick. Brush both sides of slices with some of oil mixture, scooping up solids and using it all.

5. Grill until browned on both sides and very tender all the way to center, 5 to 8 minutes per side.

6. Sprinkle half of eggplant slices with some of cheese, then tomato; top each with another eggplant slice, pressing it into place.

7. Transfer to serving dish with metal spatula; cut each slice in half crosswise. Serve warm.

Grilled Eggplant is a great healthy meal.