Yangshuo Style Eggplant

I saw Ruth Reichl making this on Gourmet's Adventure's with Ruth recently and it looked so good I went straight out to the store to get me some eggplant! I experimented with Asian food quite a bit a few years ago and I still find it one of the most intriguing types of food to make. Partly because of the interesting and unfamiliar ingredients, but also because of the interesting cuts of the vegetables and how fast everything seems to cook. It's like 90% preparation and 10% cooking and I just find that neat.

You can find the recipe for Yangshuo Style Eggplant here.

It says it serves four as a side dish, but that's a really tiny side dish. I doubled the recipe for the four of us to enjoy as a side. I wish I quadrupled it. We couldn't get enough of it!

Steamed Eggplant with Spicy Miso Dressing

This Steamed Eggplant with Spicy Miso Dressing from the Japanese Light cookbook is a quick and healthy meal. And it was fun for me because I have never made anything with miso before.

I am not sure from the recipe if I was supposed to use regular or Chinese eggplant. I happened to be at the Asian market so I bought two Chinese eggplant because I have not tried them. They are much smaller in size and I had a bunch of extra dressing so I think that I should have purchased regular Italian eggplant.

Didn't I have a really healthy dinner? I had this eggplant and the Shimeji Mushrooms and Ginkgo Nut Parcel. I ate the entire recipe full of eggplant and one parcel of mushrooms. It was neat to eat veggies in a way other than stir-fry.

Steamed Eggplant with Spicy Miso Dressing 2 medium eggplants 1 garlic clove, peeled and grated 1 (1-inch) piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated 1 shallot, minced 3 tablespoons soy sauce 1 tablespoon medium-colored miso paste 2 tablespoons rice vinegar 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds 1 teaspoon Asian sesame oil

Cut off and discard the eggplant stems and quarter them lengthwise. Soak them in water for 10 minutes to reduce the bitterness. Drain and pat dry with paper towels. Steam the eggplants for 12-15 minutes or until they are soft in the middle. Lay them out flat on a chopping board and fan them to cool down.

Mix together all other ingredients for the dressing. Transfer the eggplant to a serving dish, drizzle with the dressing and serve.

Eggplant Ricotta Bake

Oregano: widely used in Greek and Italian cuisines


I chose oregano as the featured herb for my Weekend Herb Blogging entry hosted this week by Scott of Real Epicurean. Fresh oregano, not dried. I cook with oregano all the time but I barely ever buy it fresh. That will be changing. The fresh oregano that I added to ricotta cheese to make an Eggplant Ricotta Bake really made the dish.

Last week Everyday Food on PBS featured this healthy recipe and I new I wanted to make it sometime this week. I have been trying to cook with eggplant in different ways. While watching this recipe being prepared, it seemed to me that it was like an eggplant lasagna. Eggplant was being used instead of any noodles. It is stacked between tomato sauce and ricotta cheese layers.


Since it is made in an 8x8 dish, I made four portions of out it. I had it right out of the oven last night and really loved it. But it was even better when I had some leftovers for lunch! This is a great meal to make and take to work during the week. I think the flavors melded together a little bit more, plus the shape held together better after it cooled completely. This is a healthy meal that is filling without making you overly full.

Eggplant Ricotta Bake (serves 4)

Ingredients
2 large eggplanats (1 to 1 ¼ pounds each), sliced lengthwise ¾ inch thick
3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for baking dish
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
1 container (15 ounces) part-skim ricotta cheese
(1 2/3 cups)
3 large eggs
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano (or 2 teaspoons dried)
1 jar (16 ounces) store-bought marinara sauce (2 cups)

Instructions
Preheat oven to 450°. Arrange eggplant slices in a single layer on two rimmed baking sheets. Brush lightly on both sides with oil; season with salt and pepper. Roast until eggplant is tender and golden, turning halfway through, 25 to 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together ricotta, eggs, ½ cup Parmesan, oregano, 1 ½ teaspoons salt, and ¼ teaspoons pepper. Brush an 8-inch square baking dish with oil.

Lay a fourth of eggplant slices in bottom of prepared dish; spread with half of marinara sauce. Top with another fourth of eggplant; spread with half of ricotta mixture. Repeat layers, ending with ricotta; sprinkle with remaining ½ cup Parmesan. Bake until bubbling and golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool 10 minutes before serving.