It’s the time of year in New Jersey when those of us who garden are seeing the fruits of our labor and are up to our you-know-whats in eggplant and tomatoes. I was complaining the other day (to myself because no one I know really cares about these cooking dilemmas of mine) that so many of the eggplant recipes are so heavy. Most of the Greek, Italian and Indian recipes using eggplant that I know of all call for heavy cheeses or sauces. So, in my effort to come up with a yummy, “light” Eggplant dish, I give you the following. It really is very good, and if you want some eggplant, stop by my house. (Oh, and sorry the picture is so lousy. I am a lot of things, but food photographer is not one of them.)
Eggplant & Tomato Gratin with Asiago Cheese
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 large eggplant (peeled and cut across into 1/2 inch slices)
2 large tomatoes cut into 1/2 inch slices
Italian Seasoned Bread Crumbs
Salt & Pepper
1/4 cup Asiago Cheese
Preheat over 400°
Salt the eggplant slices and let sit for 30 minutes. Rinse and dry. If you don’t know how to do this or why, search this blog for salting eggplant, I describe it in detail in another post.
Lightly bread the eggplant and fry in olive oil until browned on both sides. Drain on paper towels. Spray a 8 x 8″ oven safe casserole dish with cooking spray. Place the eggplant slices on the bottom and layer the tomato slices on top of each eggplant. Salt and pepper the tomatoes. You could also drizzle a little EVOO on top as well. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 10 minutes. Sprinkle each tomato with the Asiago cheese and put back in oven to melt cheese. Be sure not to over cook this dish or your eggplant will turn to mush. If your tomatoes are very juicy, you may want to seed them a little before placing them on the eggplant. You want the eggplant to stay a little crispy.
Enjoy the Eggplant as a side with the following delicious Flank Steak with Cabernet and Balsamic sauce.
This dish is two recipes combined to make one fantastic Flank Steak. The marinade is from The South Beach Diet Cookbook. The sauce is from Food Network’s Guy Fieri.
Marinade
1 flank steak (1 1/2 pounds)
1/2 cup tomato juice (I use about 3/4, because I buy the little cans and just use the whole thing)
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 small onion, finely chopped (1/4 cup)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
Combine all ingredients and pour over meat in a zip lock back. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Grill or broil meat 5 inches from the heat. 5 minutes on the first side, 3 on the second or until a thermometer inserted in the center reads 145°. Let sit for 5 minutes and slice thinly across the grain. Pour sauce over meat and enjoy.
Sauce
3 tablespoons of EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
1/4 cup red onion minced
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
1 Cup Cabernet Sauvignon
1/2 Cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
Lightly saute onion in oil until golden brown, add garlic and saute a few minutes. Add wine and balsamic vinegar and scrape any bits of onion that have stuck to the pan. Add sugar and simmer and reduce for 20 to 30 minutes.
