My darling husband is away, at an education conference in Athens (poor him), leaving me home alone for five days with our little bundle of joy. This means I need to eat well to keep up my strength! I've been doing this by making some of my old favorites that aren't necessarily Nick's favorites, like my bow-tie pasta salad with bresaola and my pregnancy go-to sweet potato stir fry. Tonight, still dreaming of an eggplant dish we had last weekend at ASD's annual progressive dinner, I set out to make something delicious out of a vegetable that Nick eats only under duress. And it was so, so, SOOOOO delicious that I am thinking about making it again for him when he comes home!
Warning: Multiple steps ahead. But it was so worth it!
Baked Eggplant with Goat Cheese, Spinach, and Red Wine Tomato Sauce
First, prepare the eggplant:
Slice the eggplants (note: I used three small-sized eggplants) into rounds just under 1 inch thick. Place them on a baking pan and sprinkle generously with salt. Let stand for 30 minutes and blot dry. Flip, salt again, and let stand for another 20 minutes before blotting again. Turn on the broiler with a rack around 4-6 inches below the heat. Brush both sides of the eggplant rounds with olive oil and sprinkle with a bit more salt and some pepper. Pop them in the oven and brown one side (about 10 minutes), then flip the rounds and brown the other side (for about the same amount of time).
In the meantime, prepare the tomato sauce:
Ingredients:
2 T olive oil
2 small onions, finely minced (I cut one large white onion, for about 1.5 cups)
2 small bay leaves
1/2 t dried thyme
1 t dried oregano
1 t dried savory (instead I put in 1 t dried sage and 1/2 t dried basil)
a generous pinch of red pepper flakes
3 large garlic cloves, minced
1 c dry red wine
1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes in puree
salt and pepper
Heat the oil in a wide skillet. Add the onions, herbs, and pepper flakes and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, for 15 minutes. Add the garlic during the last few minutes. Raise the heat, add the wine and 1/2 cup water, and simmer until reduced by half, 12 to 15 minutes. Add the tomatoes and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Simmer until the sauce has thickened, about 35 minutes. Taste for salt (I didn't add any extra) and season with pepper (yes please!).
Deborah writes: "Use this as seasoning as well as a sauce. Stir a spoonful into hearty grain dishes, serve with herb-crusted tofu and lentil and caramelized onion croquettes, or toss with pasta and chickpeas for a substantial cold weather pasta."
Once the eggplant and sauce are done, you're ready to assemble the dish and bake!
Heat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray an 11x13 glass pan with olive oil. Pour some of the tomato sauce into the pan, enough to coat the bottom. Place the eggplant rounds in one layer in the pan. Spoon additional sauce (you probably won't use it all) onto each of the rounds. Then place steamed spinach (I was generous with this) on the top of the sauce. Last, cut chunks of goat cheese (I used about 5 oz) to place on the top of each round, followed by generous amounts of shredded mozzarella (I used about 1 1/2 cups). Bake, covered, on the middle rack of the oven for 20 minutes. Then remove cover, raise the rack to the highest mark, and broil the cheese until it begins to brown (around 3 minutes). Finally, eat and enjoy!
Recipes modified from Deborah Madison (2007), Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, "Red Wine Tomato Sauce" and "Eggplant Rounds with Cheese and Red Wine Tomato Sauce."
Warning: Multiple steps ahead. But it was so worth it!
Baked Eggplant with Goat Cheese, Spinach, and Red Wine Tomato Sauce
First, prepare the eggplant:
Slice the eggplants (note: I used three small-sized eggplants) into rounds just under 1 inch thick. Place them on a baking pan and sprinkle generously with salt. Let stand for 30 minutes and blot dry. Flip, salt again, and let stand for another 20 minutes before blotting again. Turn on the broiler with a rack around 4-6 inches below the heat. Brush both sides of the eggplant rounds with olive oil and sprinkle with a bit more salt and some pepper. Pop them in the oven and brown one side (about 10 minutes), then flip the rounds and brown the other side (for about the same amount of time).
In the meantime, prepare the tomato sauce:
Ingredients:
2 T olive oil
2 small onions, finely minced (I cut one large white onion, for about 1.5 cups)
2 small bay leaves
1/2 t dried thyme
1 t dried oregano
1 t dried savory (instead I put in 1 t dried sage and 1/2 t dried basil)
a generous pinch of red pepper flakes
3 large garlic cloves, minced
1 c dry red wine
1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes in puree
salt and pepper
Heat the oil in a wide skillet. Add the onions, herbs, and pepper flakes and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, for 15 minutes. Add the garlic during the last few minutes. Raise the heat, add the wine and 1/2 cup water, and simmer until reduced by half, 12 to 15 minutes. Add the tomatoes and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Simmer until the sauce has thickened, about 35 minutes. Taste for salt (I didn't add any extra) and season with pepper (yes please!).
Deborah writes: "Use this as seasoning as well as a sauce. Stir a spoonful into hearty grain dishes, serve with herb-crusted tofu and lentil and caramelized onion croquettes, or toss with pasta and chickpeas for a substantial cold weather pasta."
Once the eggplant and sauce are done, you're ready to assemble the dish and bake!
Heat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray an 11x13 glass pan with olive oil. Pour some of the tomato sauce into the pan, enough to coat the bottom. Place the eggplant rounds in one layer in the pan. Spoon additional sauce (you probably won't use it all) onto each of the rounds. Then place steamed spinach (I was generous with this) on the top of the sauce. Last, cut chunks of goat cheese (I used about 5 oz) to place on the top of each round, followed by generous amounts of shredded mozzarella (I used about 1 1/2 cups). Bake, covered, on the middle rack of the oven for 20 minutes. Then remove cover, raise the rack to the highest mark, and broil the cheese until it begins to brown (around 3 minutes). Finally, eat and enjoy!
Recipes modified from Deborah Madison (2007), Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, "Red Wine Tomato Sauce" and "Eggplant Rounds with Cheese and Red Wine Tomato Sauce."



Apparently our federal government is getting into the nutritional kick, with the first "Feds Get Fit" 


