Grilled Eggplant with Cumin Vinaigrette and Feta

http://www.kalynskitchen.com/2007/09/grilled-eggplant-recipe-with-garlic.html


Adapted from http://www.kalynskitchen.com/2007/09/grilled-eggplant-recipe-with-garlic.html

I had a crazy salad cook off on Friday night and this is one of the three salads I made. 

It was soooooo good. I love eggplant and having it grilled with that cumin garlic vinaigrette and cilantro just made me gush. I dreamed of eating it again as soon as possible and thought it would be good stuffed in a sandwich .  I ended up grilling a few red peppers too with the eggplant. I peeled off the burnt parts and sliced it adding it this symphony of goodness.

You will need:

1 large eggplant, cut in uniform slices 3/4 inch thick
olive oil, for brushing on eggplant
2 T chopped fresh cilantro (or mint or both)
1/4 cup crumbled feta

For vinaigrette:
1/2 tsp. garlic puree or finely minced garlic
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 T fresh lemon juice
1 T shallots or red onion, finely minced
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
pinch cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. Spike Seasoning
3 T extra-virgin olive oil

Preheat gas or charcoal barbecue grill to medium high.

Put all ingredients in a bowl and whisk in olive oil.

Brush eggplant with olive oil on both sides. For criss-cross grill marks, grill 4-5 minutes on first side, then rotate and cook 3-4 minutes more. Turn and cook about 7-8 minutes more on second side. I cooked my eggplant pieces just under 15 minutes total cooking time. Actual cooking time will depend on how hot your grill is and the temperature and thickness of the eggplant. Watch it carefully the last five minutes of cooking time and rotate pieces so they are evenly browned.

To serve, arrange grilled eggplant slices on serving platter, drizzle vinaigrette over, then top with crumbled feta and herbs.

Eggplant and Zucchini Oat Bran Parmesan

Yikes no finished product photo but I can assure you it was excellent! I am a huge proponent of using whatever you have in your fridge and I had only 1 eggplant and some zucchini and to keep it wheat free I used oat bran instead of bread crumbs and it was surprisingly good. I thought it might almost taste too healthy but for us it tasted just great and we got lots of fibre :) smart eh?

Preheat oven to 400 degrees 

You'll need:

1 eggplant cut into discs

1 zucchini sliced lengthwise 

bowl of oat bran (found in baking sections- We used Roger's brand)

2 eggs (with a dash of milk or soy or water)

sprinkle of herbs, salt and pepper if you like

1 package of spinach defrosted and all the water squeezed out

sliced mushrooms or whatever veg you want to add- cooked

1-2 bottles of spagetti sauce ( I used Classico)

Bag of shredded cheese

Place the veggies in scrambled herby eggs, then dredge in oat bran and place on foil on a tray. You can load up the tray and flip veggies after about 15 minutes for another 10 or so. Keep an eye on it and turn when the veggies start to feel soft with a fork.  Remove from oven.

Use a deep dish pan and start to layer your sauce, veggies and cheese and finish off with a layer of cheese.  Put sauce and a bit of water on the bottom of the pan and in a single layer place eggplant and zucchini, then sauce, repeat with all ingredients.  Add as much cheese as you like, there are no rules.

Grilled Vegetables a la BBQ

This is what I love to make especially in the summer and who's to stop you from doing it in the winter.  Grilled veggies are just about the easiest thing to make because you can transform them into so many different meals such as sandwiches, lasagna, pasta salad, wheat berry salad, marinade them in olive oil and balsamic and add them to any meal.  I could go on. There are several other recipes posted where I use these veggies with other meals.

Its easy peasy-

Slice long vegetables horizontally
red peppers into big long chunks that won't fall through your BBQ
Eggplant
Zucchini
Asparagus
Mushrooms
Add whatever veggies you like

Drizzle a bit of olive oil, minced garlic if you like,

Throw them on the grill till they are a nice color.  The peppers will burn a little but don't let them get too black- carcinagens are not good.

You can plate them with chunks of roasted garlic, black olives and drizzle more olive oil and balsamic too.  SOOOOOO GOOOD and so easy.

Grilled Vegetable Lasagna

I love lasagna and I was inspired to get away from my regular ground beef lasagna when I came across kamut lasagna at Donald's Market at the New West Quay.  On it's own kamut pasta is not my favorite but it's healthy and it's not gluey wheat and it not the star of this dish so it went very well with the nutritious theme.  I choose vegetables I particularly love and grilled them on the BBQ.  In the past I've roasted a bunch of veggie in the oven (carrots, sweet potato, eggplant) and put them in the lasagna.  As it is lasagna can be time consuming so if you can grill or roast it's a bit faster. 

16 pieces of kamut or regular lasagna strips (number depends on how many layers and how big your pan is)

1 jar of spagetti/ tomato sauce

1 tub of ricotta mixed with 1/4 c. milk

1 pk of mozzarella cheese shredded

1 bulb of roasted garlic

1 lg. japanese eggplant (halved and sliced horizontally)-grilled

4 peppers (yellow and red)- blackened, peeled and sliced

2 zucchini (sliced horizontally)-grilled

20 brown button mushrooms skewered- grilled

1 pk frozen spinach

Spread a few tablespoons of tomato sauce on the bottom of the pan with a few tablespoons of water so the lasagna does not stick to the bottom of the pan. Layer your lasagna in whatever way you wish. This is how mine was layered

Lasagna, Sauce, Mushrooms, Zucchini, Ricotta mix, Mozzarella

Lasagna, Sauce, Grilled peppers and roasted garlic, spinach, Ricotto mix, Mozzarella

Lasagna, Sauce, Eggplant, Ricotta mix, Mozzarella

Lasagna, Tomato Sauce (thinned with water/milk) to top the lasagna.

Bake at 400 degrees for 45 mins. Cover with foil and removed during the last 15 mins.

Toss your vegetables to be grilled in a tablespoon of oil so they don't stick to the grill and remain moist.

Place hot peppers in a clear plastic bag to let them steam.  This softens the skin and makes it easier to peel off.  Wash the peppers if the charred remnants are difficult to remove.


Your lasagna may look like this.

Kamut lasagna can be bought at Donald's market for cheap $3 something.