Eggplant Spread

I'd noticed recently that I was eating far more bread than a person should. After all, what's not to love about the eggshell crisp crust and tender insides of a freshly baked French baguette? No one person needs to consume 18 inches of bread all by themselves, though, so I needed to scale back. This veggie-full spread, which is neither caponata nor ratatouille, but reminiscent of both and just as delicious, served on fresh zucchini rounds was just the ticket.

This recipe calls for tomatoes concassè. Just what is that? Here is a quick tutorial to help you understand the method.

Tomatoes concassè is peeled, seeded and chopped or crushed tomato. The easiest way to peel a tomato is to heat it briefly in boiling water. Follow the photos here and description below. (Click the photo to enlarge.)

1. Cut the core from a tomato and turn in upside down.
2. Cut a small 'X' in the bottom of the tomato and drop into boiling water for 30 seconds.
3. Remove from water and cool in ice water or very cold water. The heat will cause the peel to separate from the flesh of the tomato and the 'X' will aid in peeling quickly.
4. Remove the peel and cut the tomato in half crosswise.
5. Seed by gently squeezing the tomato, cut side down, over a bowl. Crush with your hands (as I did for this dish) or dice with a knife.

Eggplant Spread
Makes 6 cups

2 Tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves garlic - minced
1 cup red onion - chopped
2 small eggplants - diced
2 cups baby bella mushrooms - sliced
1 Tablespoon sea salt
6 plum tomatoes concassè
2 Tablespoons capers - drained and rinsed
1 teaspoon anchovy paste
basil, oregano and parsley - 1 teaspoon dried, each
1 cup pitted Nicoise olives
1/2 cup shredded fresh Parmesan


In a large skillet heat olive oil over medium heat and add onion and garlic.
Cook just until onions begin to sweat and are translucent. Add eggplant and mushrooms. Sprinkle salt over all and reduce heat to low. The eggplant and mushrooms will leach their juices and aid the cooking process this takes about 20 minutes.
Once eggplant is softened, add tomatoes, capers, anchovy paste, herbs and olives. Cook for another 20 minutes until all vegetables are soft and flavors are blended.
Remove from heat and stir in Parmesan cheese.
Serve hot or cold with your favorite dippers or bread.

Easy Eggplant Parmigiana

I love eggplant in any form - especially parmigiana. I don't like the time it can take to make it, though - all that breading and frying, especially with all the people I have to feed each day (remember, it's 8 during the week and 9 on weekends), that can get really tedious. I also don't like the extra calories added with breading and frying, so I came up with this simpler method - much like the one I used for the Eggplant Mozzarella I posted at Short Order Mom. This one still uses breadcrumbs, but no egg and no oil.

The "secret" - eggplant diced small instead of sliced.

Sauté the diced eggplant in a small amount of olive oil until softened.

Layered into a 9x13 pan that has been sprayed with oil.

Topped with breadcrumbs.

A layer of marinara.

Shredded Parmesan and Romano cheeses.

Sliced mozzarella on top of it all.

30 minutes in the oven and the result is perfection!

Easy Eggplant Parmigiana
Makes 1 9x13 pan

8 cups diced eggplant
1 Tablespoon salt
3 Tablespoons olive oil
2 cups marinara
2 cups breadcrumbs
1 cup shredded Parmesan and Romano cheeses
1/2 pound sliced mozzarella cheese

Place eggplant in a colander and sprinkle with salt. Allow to stand for 15 minutes so excess water can drip off of the eggplant. Squeeze between paper towels and sauté with olive oil until tender - about 10 minutes. Spray a 9x13 pan with oil and spread eggplant evenly over the bottom. Top with breadcrumbs, marinara, Parmesan and Romano cheeses and mozzarella. Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 30 minutes, or until the top is brown and bubbly.

Veggie Wednesday

I'm linking you again today. I made a kick-butt (yes, I used the word butt) eggplant dish last week and posted it to my Disney blog, Cookies to Caviar.
Check out my Eggplant Mozzarella. Yum.