Eggplants

Eggplant is one of those things that I usually don't go for. There have been exceptions, like the time Peter and I had dinner with some friends at Lococo's on Piedmont Ave in CA or when he took me to The Nine's for pizza in Ithaca. Lococo's makes a great eggplant parm, actually one of the best I've had. The Nine's pizza with fried eggplant on top, mmmmmmmm.

Peter loves eggplant and I never know what to do with it so I don't ever buy it. Somehow on our last trip to Trader Joe's an eggplant magically appeared in our basket.
As it turns out, I do know what to do with it and I actually liked it!

Baked Eggplant with tomato and garlic
You will need:
1 large eggplant cut into 4 wedges (the long way) or 4 Japanese or Italian eggplants, split in half
1 can of diced tomatoes, drained
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried thyme
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil
Parmesan cheese
fresh basil, thinly chopped (for garnish)
baking sheet lined with foil and sprayed

Preheat oven to 350*F
Slice a "V" in each eggplant wedge leaving about 1/4-1/2"of the meat on the skin
drizzle with olive oil and set on baking sheet

Dice the remaining eggplant into about 1/2" cubes
Heat 1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil in a pan
Saute the eggplant and tomato until eggplant begins to soften
add garlic, thyme, oregano and salt and pepper
Once eggplants are soft remove from heat and spoon onto each eggplant wedge


Sprinkle with Parm and bake 40-45 minutes until bottom wedge is soft.
Garnish with basil and serve warm
We didn't' eat the skin, but you can if you like.

xoxo