:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/__opt__aboutcom__coeus__resources__content_migration__serious_eats__seriouseats.com__recipes__images__2012__08__20120816-218959-cook-the-book-romanian-sweet-and-sour-eggplant-a0ea404ba0c04beb82e943b531c95853.jpg?w=1200&resize=1200,0&ssl=1 "Susan Feniger’s Road Meals’s Romanian Candy and Bitter Eggplant")
Within the path of the tip of the summer season, eggplant tends to get the brunt of my vegetable exhaustion. By the purpose I attain for it, it will have been languishing inside the crisper drawer until a bit too shriveled to eat in any technique not roasted and pureed. So after I seen a model new mannequin of eggplant recipe in Susan Feniger’s Street MealsI jumped on it.
Feniger’s recipe is an interpretation of Japanese European eggplant salad made daring with a stewed tomatoes, apple cider vinegar, and a generous scoop of brown sugar. The eggplant is salted after which coated in a vibrant parsley-scallion pesto sooner than being fried in copious portions of oil. After it has been decreased to a silky, rich mannequin of its former self, the eggplant spends a quick 10 minutes stewing with the tomatoes, sugar, and vinegar. It won’t be the sexiest eggplant dish potential, nonetheless the final word salad is unquestionably a novel sort out the aubergine.
Why I picked this recipe: A model new sort out eggplant is always welcome in my dwelling.
What labored: Salting, searing, and stewing eggplant yields a supple and silky texture, glorious for absorbing the flavorful tomato-vinegar mixture. The final word dish tastes good scorching, warmth, and funky, making for a versatile summer season dish.
What didn’t: The pesto coating on the eggplant caught firmly to the skillet, even when using the two tablespoons of oil suggested. A quick change to a non-stick skillet solved the difficulty.
Suggested tweaks: Aside from a pan swap, I’d perhaps dial once more the sugar solely a bit (1/3 cup instead of 1/2) subsequent time. I’d moreover want to try serving the salad with watercress, goat cheese, and sourdough bread, as Feniger suggests inside the headnote.
Reprinted with permission from Susan Feniger’s Street Meals by Susan Feniger. Copyright 2012. Printed by Clarkston Potter. Accessible wherever books are purchased. All rights reserved.
Susan Feniger’s Street Meals’s Romanian Sweet and Bitter Eggplant
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2 huge eggplants (about 2 kilos)
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3 tablespoons plus 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
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1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
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10 cloves garlic, peeled
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2 bunches scallions, white and inexperienced components, roughly chopped
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1/2 bunch latest Italian parsley leaves and small stems, roughly chopped (1/4 cup)
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1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
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Canola oil
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1 (14.5-ounce) can full peeled tomatoes, drained and roughly chopped
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3/4 cup cider vinegar
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1/2 cup packed darkish brown sugar
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Decrease off and discard every ends of each eggplant, and scale back them lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Lay the slices out on a baking sheet, and sprinkle both sides with the three tablespoons salt. Put apart for 20 minutes so that the salt will draw out among the many water from the eggplant. Then pat the eggplant dry with a dish towel.
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Put the olive oil, garlic, scallions, parsley, cayenne, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt in a meals processor, and puree until a simple paste varieties (it will resemble pesto). Unfold liberally all through both sides of the eggplant slices.
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In an enormous sauté pan set over medium-high heat, heat 2 tablespoons canola oil. Add enough eggplant slices to cowl the underside of the pan, and put together dinner until they’re browned on both sides and cooked by the use of, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Swap the eggplant to a platter or plate. Repeat this course of with the remaining eggplant slices, together with 2 tablespoons oil for each batch. Decrease the cooked eggplant into 1-inch-wide strips.
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In a saucepan set over medium heat, combine the tomatoes, vinegar, and brown sugar. Stew for 12 minutes or until the tomatoes begin breaking down. Add the eggplant strips and stir collectively. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, until a number of the liquid has been cooked off. Take away from the heat and serve, or chill. This dish may be served warmth or chilly.