Roasted Pepper and Eggplant Ajvar Spread

 Recipe Adapted slightly from Aida Mollenkamp.

 Ingredients
-2 pounds red bell peppers (about 5 to 6)
-1 small eggplant (roughly 3/4 pound)
-3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
-3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
-1 ounce fresh chives
1 tablespoon lemon juice
-1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
-1 teaspoon rapadura sugar or coconut sugar
-Kosher salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper
-1/4 teaspoon dried red chili flakes

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Instructions

-Heat oven to 450°F and arrange racks in the upper third. Halve each pepper, discarding stems and seeds. Place peppers, cut side down, on a baking sheet lined with foil.

-Cut eggplant in half lengthwise and drizzle it with about 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and a little salt and place it, cut-side down, on the baking sheet. Roast the peppers and eggplant until they are blackened, blistered, and the eggplant collapses when you press on it, about 30 minutes. (You can also grill the peppers and eggplant.)

-Remove the eggplant and set it aside to cool slightly. Remove the peppers, place them in a bowl, and cover with plastic wrap until the peppers have slightly cooled, at least 5 minutes.

-Use a spoon or ice-cream scoop to remove the pulp of the eggplant from the skin, and discard the skin. Put eggplant in a food processor with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and the garlic. Pulse the eggplant a few times so that it’s roughly chopped.

Tip:Ajvar can be made up to 4 days ahead of time; store refrigerated in an airtight container and bring to room temperature before serving. Taste and stir in more vinegar, sugar, salt, or olive oil as desired.

-Once peppers are cool enough to handle, peel them (reserving any juices that collect), discard the peel, and add the peppers and 2 to 3 tablespoons of the pepper liquid to the food processor. Add the chives and pulse 5 to 8 times to chop coarsely. Stir in the lemon juice, vinegar, red pepper flakes, and sugar. Taste and add more sugar if it is a bit sour, then add salt and freshly ground black pepper, as desired. Serve warm or room temperature as a spread or condiment.

Eggplant and Tomato-Mint Salsa

This is an old favorite of mine from a 2005 issue of Cooking Light. It's not the most beautiful-looking dish, but it sure is tasty and worth the effort.

The Cooking Light instructions tell you to grill the eggplant; you get a smokier flavor from the eggplant using a grill. I've also roasted the eggplant in the oven and it turned out fine. I've included this method as an alternative in the directions.

Eggplant and Tomato-Mint Salsa

From Cooking Light

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1/2 cup)

Ingredients

• 2 medium eggplants (about 1 1/2 pounds)
• Cooking spray
• 1 1/2 cups chopped seeded tomato
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 garlic clove, minced

Directions

1. Cut each eggplant in half lengthwise. Lightly score cut sides of eggplant.

2. Place eggplant, cut sides down, on grill rack coated with cooking spray. Grill 20 minutes or until very tender, turning occasionally. Alternatively, place eggplant, cut sides down, on a baking sheet. Bake in a 425°F oven for about 45 minutes or until very tender.

3. Scoop pulp from eggplant halves and place in a sieve over a bowl. Discard peels. Let pulp stand 1 hour or until cool and thoroughly drained. Discard liquid.

4. Coarsely mash pulp, and place in a small bowl. Stir in tomato and remaining ingredients. Serve at room temperature, stirring just before serving.

Eggplant Parmesan

This is a SimplyRecipes.com take on a classic favorite.

Eggplant Parmesan
Ingredients
1 Italian eggplant
Kosher salt
4½ cups peeled tomatoes, chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
olive oil
freshly ground black pepper
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup fine dry breadcrumbs
4 large eggs, beaten
1 pound fresh mozzarella, sliced into ¼-inch rounds
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
½ to 1 cup fresh basil leaves

Directions
1. Cut eggplants lengthwise into ¼-inch slices. Arrange one layer in the bottom of a large colander and sprinkle evenly with salt. Repeat with remaining eggplant, salting, until all eggplant is in the colander. Weigh down the slices with a couple of plates and let drain for 2 hours. The purpose of this step is to have the eggplant release some of its moisture before cooking.
2. While the eggplant is draining, prepare tomato sauce. Combine tomatoes, garlic and ⅓ cup olive oil in a food processor. Season with salt and pepper to tasted and set aside.
3. When eggplant has drained, press down on it to remove excess water, wipe off the excess salt, and lay the slices out on paper towels to remove all the moisture. In a wide, shallow bowl, combine flour and breadcrumbs. Mix well. Pour beaten eggs into another wide shallow bowl. Place a large, deep skillet over medium heat, and pour in a a half inch of olive oil. When oil is shimmering, dredge the eggplant slices first in the flour mixture, then in the beaten egg. Working in batches, slide coated eggplant into hot oil and fry until golden brown on both sides, turning once. Drain on paper towels.
4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In the bottom of a 10- by 15-inch glass baking dish, spread 1 cup of tomato sauce. Top with one third of the eggplant slices. Top eggplant with half of the mozzarella slices. Sprinkle with one third of the Parmesan and half of the basil leaves.
5. Make a second layer of eggplant slices, topped by 1 cup of sauce, remaining mozzarella, half the remaining Parmesan, and all of the remaining basil. Add remaining eggplant, and top with the remaining tomato sauce and Parmesan.
6. Bake until cheese has melted and the top is slightly brown, about 30 minutes. Allow to rest at room temperature for about 10 minutes before serving.

Eggplant Puree with Walnuts

LFFC Specialty Eggplant

Thank you to Connie, a CSA shareholder from Rutledge, PA, for sharing the following recipe with us!

Eggplant Puree with Walnuts
Makes 1½ cups

Ingredients
2 large eggplants
2 to 4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
½ cup shelled walnuts, coarsely chopped
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons strained fresh lemon juice
1 to 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
salt to taste
½ to 1 teaspoon sugar (optional)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 450°F. Wash the eggplants and pat dry. Puncture the skin in several places with a fork. Place on an ungreased pan and bake for about 25 minutes, turning, until the skin is blistered and shriveled. Remove from oven and cool for a few minutes, until easy to handle.
2. While the eggplants are roasting, pulse the garlic, walnuts, and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil together in a food processor until ground and pastelike.
3. Cut off the stem and cut the eggplant in half lengthwise. Using a spoon, scrape out the pulp, discarding as many of the seeds as possible. Add the eggplant, a little at a time, to the bowl of the food processor and pulse on and off. Add the lemon juice, vinegar, and remaining olive oil and pulse until well combined. The eggplant puree does not have to be perfectly smooth. Season with salt and add a bit of sugar if necessary, as eggplants sometimes impart a trace of bitterness.

Eggplant Croquettes

Thank you to Mary, a CSA shareholder in Wyomissing, PA, for sharing the following recipe from AllRecipes.com. She writes, "This one was delicious...a little naughty being that it is deep fried, but you could also bake them. Enjoy!!"

Eggplant Croquettes
Serves 6

Ingredients:

2 medium eggplants, peeled and cubed 1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese 1 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs 2 eggs, beaten 2 tablespoons dried parsley

2 tablespoons chopped onion 1 clove garlic, minced 1 cup vegetable oil for frying 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions:

1.	Place eggplant in a microwave safe bowl and microwave on medium-high 3 minutes. Turn eggplant over and microwave another 2 minutes. The eggplant should be tender, cook another 2 minutes if the eggplants are not tender. Drain any liquid from the eggplants and mash.
2.	Combine cheese, bread crumbs, eggs, parsley, onion, garlic and salt with the mashed eggplant. Mix well.
3.	Shape the eggplant mixture into patties. Heat oil in a large skillet. Drop eggplant patties one at a time into skillet. Fry each side of the patties until golden brown, approximately 5 minutes on each side. Patties can be frozen before frying and cooked later.

Eggplant Hot Pockets

Every culture has them - calzones, turnovers, etc. I use store-bought puff pastry dough to make mine and have made so many savory variations. It almost cheating as it's so easy to make an indulgent meal with no dough-making. To start take:

2 medium eggplants
4 hungarian hot wax peppers
1/2 cup pistachios
1/2 cup feta cheese
1 sheet puff pastry dough (I use Pillsbury found in the frozen case next to the pies)

Poke the eggplants and roast for 40 min until it collapses. While it's baking cut the peppers in half lengthwise, scoop out seeds and bake for 10 minutes alongside eggplant. Begin poking eggplant around 30 minutes into baking to see if it's gotten soft yet. If it's leaking juices it's ready. Let eggplant cool for 10 minutes, cut in half and scrape out all the tender goodies. Roughly chop peppers and the eggplant, too, if necessary.

Meanwhile, shell 1 1/2 cups of pistachios secretly eating all but 1/2 cup (cook's privilege!) and place in bowl large enough to contain all the ingredients for mixing. In same bowl, crumble feta. When veggies are ready, combine and stir into nuts and cheese.

Lightly dust your work surface and roll out pastry dough very thin. Use bowl and trace line and cut out a circle. Working with one circle at a time, fill with as much ingredient as you feel comfortable with. I use about 1/2 cup per turnover but you might have smaller circles. Gently nudge filling to one side and cover with other side of dough. Pinch overlapped ends with a fork and transfer to a cookie sheet to bake. Repeat for remaining dough. Bake for 15 minutes or until dough is lightly brown.

This one does take practice to get a feel for handling the dough but the effort is well worth it.

Eggplant Caviar

This recipe is courtesy of http://tuliptreehillfarm.blogspot.com. It was the perfect recipe for the enormous Italian eggplant I received in my share last week, and a big hit with my friends and family!

Eggplant Caviar
Ingredients
1 large or two small eggplants
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill (or 1 tablespoon dried)
3-5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
1. Preheat oven on broiler setting.
2. Wash eggplant and pierce skin several times with a fork. Place on a baking sheet and broil on center rack of oven for 10 minutes. Turn and broil an additional 10 minutes. Remove from oven, allow to cool slightly.
3. Split the eggplant in half and with a spoon, scoop pulp into the bowl of a food processor or blender. Pulse briefly, just until smooth. Add onion, olive oil, dill, garlic, salt, and pepper. Pulse only until mixed. You don't want to puree or further chop these ingredients, just blend them.
4. That's it! Serve warm or chilled on a hearty, crusty bread.