Firstly, let me apologize, school has me swamped! But I will make up for it very soon. {see way down below}
I recently had friends over for dinner, and with such hot nights in Cincinnati, I wanted to make an appetizer that would have a little kick and could be served at room temperature.
So I roasted some eggplant, added some garlic and seasonings, pureed the mixture and served it. The four of us devoured the bowl!
I hope you enjoy it.
Eggplant Crostinis – serves 4
1 large eggplant, peeled and cubed
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
2/3 cup water
1 large shallot, minced
1 clove garlic, mashed to paste
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Italian parsley, minced
1 baguette, sliced to rounds
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
In a large bowl combine eggplant, salt, pepper, and 1 tablespoon olive oil. Arrange the eggplant in a shallow baking dish, add water and cover tightly with aluminum foil. Bake for 45 minutes. The eggplant should be a green olive color, and be very soft. Drain the eggplant in a colander, and set aside.
Once the eggplant is cool, combine the eggplant, shallots, garlic, vinegar and remaining olive oil in the bowl of a food processor, and pulse until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Chill for 3 hours.
To serve: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the baguette rounds on a baking sheet, brush with olive oil, and season with pepper. Toast until brown, about 8 minutes. Mix the parsley into the eggplant puree, and serve with the warm crostinis.
Happy Cooking!
Sorry I don’t have photos, the moment I plated this, it disappeared!
My way of making it up to you…Canadian Thanksgiving is October 8th, unfortunately we don’t get they day off here in Cincy, so I invite friends to celebrate on the 7th. I’m promising to thoroughly document the entire menu, especially since last year, I ended up having to individually write out all the recipes for my girlfriends. Below is the invite/menu.
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