grilled eggplant stacks with basil chiffonade

Grilled eggplant stacks with basil chiffonade trial#
Grilled eggplant stacks with basil chiffonade tv#

Half-moons of fresh mozzarella are quickly warmed in oil with a bit of crushed red pepper and are then scattered on top of the ring of rice. This warm and/or cool salad begins with saut éed eggplant, onions, and tomatoes–seasoned with garlic and lemon rind– that are then spooned into the middle of a ring of rice that has been stirred together with chopped fresh mint, parsley, and spinach. Sometimes in this blog, I only have to say, “Fried cheese,” though in this case I tempered it with the adjective, “warm.” Try this:Įggplant-tomato salad on mint rice with warm mozzerella I had fresh mozzerella leftover from caprese, jasmine rice, eggplant, fresh tomatoes, and… this is what transpired, a fusion sort of meal I think you will love.

Grilled eggplant stacks with basil chiffonade tv#

The other night I wanted a salad that I could have for a meal (that Weight Watcher thing) and he could have as a side for his steak sandwich with horseradish sauce while we watched “The Newsroom”, my new TV crush. When eggplant is perfect–fresh with tender, deep purple skin– I’m making it as often as I can. So, in addition to baseball, Dave is crazy about eggplant Any way. I did, however, use the regular large, purple eggplant and needed to peel it.

Grilled eggplant stacks with basil chiffonade trial#

A little trial and error might be called for. If you have small, young eggplant of any kind you probably don’t need to peel them–just wash, trim, and dice.

These little Thai eggplants are often available at Saint Paul farmer’s markets. And no one else ever says WHY you shouldn’t deprive yourself, except that it results in binges. My comment is occasionally, “You’d better have what you love or you won’t stay on the program, won’t lose weight….because you won’t be YOU.” It’s actually a pretty well-known fact in WW circles, but it usually needs repeating on a weekly basis. People complain and cry (an exaggeration…but nearly) about not being able to have ice cream, margaritas, chips, chocolate, butter, etc. This comes up at my Weight Watcher’s meetings. We know who people are (partly) because of these things. Artist friend Dan is nutty about bluegrass and my friend Bud waited long years for his Bosendorfer piano. My boss “never met an egg she didn’t like.” Tony’s passion is national parks and scotch I don’t know in what order. Roberta has a life-long love affair with the organ–even has one in her house. This one was Roberta’s.ĭave’s a baseball nut. If I want chocolate cake, I make one for a friend’s birthday and have a piece. I buy a tiny, perfect piece at the grocery check out (50 calories or so) and I eat JUST THAT ONE. For instance, I am a chocolate fiend and, if I’m smart, when I’m trying to slim down, I don’t even keep it in the house. In fact, you know that what we love - or hate– in some ways defines us. If you’re a loving cook (and most cooks are), you make your loved ones’ favorite foods. Try this, even if you’re unsure about eggplant: Continue reading → Ina Fridays - Appetizers - Roasted Eggplant Spread A few flakes of crushed red pepper add zing, if you like, and a plate lined with greens tidies the whole thing up and makes it both beautiful and healthful. (Scroll down for notes for both G-F and vegan.) There’s little to it but grilling the eggplant and zucchini, topping the eggplant with fresh mozzarella, then layering it all on the plate with warm marinara and shaved Parmesan. Seems a bit like meat, but the meat stayed at the store while the vegetables came home to play. This meal looks and feels like pasta, but there’s no pasta in sight, making it perfect for a gluten-free meal.

Which makes it more like lasagna, right? You call it whatever you like, but make it. You might rather think of it as Eggplant Parmesan Stacks or just Eggplant Parmesan–and you can– but as I recently realized: there’s mozzarella in this gorgeous and quick summer dinner.

Welcome a new girl on your cooking block: grilled eggplant lasagna. (Smells, good, huh?) Salads truly make you a happy camper, but your mouth is just a wee bit sick of chewing…chewing…chewing. That pot of chili simmering on the back burner or a chicken casserole in the oven is beginning to sound like something you want. So you love summer grilling but are getting a little bit tired of it all.