Grilled Goats Cheese And Eggplant From Chris Cox Recipes

GRILLED EGGPLANT AND GOAT CHEESE SALAD

Steps:

• Place a grill pan over medium-high heat or preheat a gas or charcoal grill. Drizzle the olive oil over the slices of eggplant and toss to coat. Grill the eggplants until tender and grill marks appear, about 3 to 4 minutes per side.
• Place the eggplants side-by-side on a serving platter. Sprinkle with the pine nuts, goat cheese, basil, and mint. Drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper.
• Cook's note: Plating the eggplant salad this way allowed the cheese to stay bright white. The salt and pepper showed up on it. The herbs remained green and fluffy. The grill marks on the eggplant were distinct.

GRILLED GOAT'S CHEESE AND EGGPLANT, FROM CHRIS COX

Steps:

• Slice the eggplant thin and sprinkle with salt. Allow to drain in a colander for an hour.
• Preheat broiler.
• Pat the eggplant dry with paper towels and brush the slices on both sides with the olive oil. Place them on a broiling pan lined with aluminum foil and broil them lightly, turning once, until the slices are golden but not overbrowned. Cool.
• Meanwhile, make the tomato sauce, or puree. Boil the tomatoes in their skins for 10 minutes. Drain and, when cool enough to handle, peel the skins. Squeeze out the juice and seeds and discard. Place the pulp in a food processor. Process until smooth and pour into a noncorrosive saucepan. The puree should be quite thick. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
• Slice the round tomatoes thin. Place two slices eggplant per person, overlapping them slightly, on a broiling pan lined with foil. (You should have eight portions.) Top each portion with a slice or two of tomato and a generous tablespoon of goat's cheese. Set aside.
• Preheat broiler. Broil the eggplant until the cheese is browned and bubbling. While it is cooking, warm the tomato sauce.
• Place the eggplant portions on individual plates, with a pool of sauce on the side. Garnish with basil and serve.

GRILLED EGGPLANT STACKS WITH GOAT CHEESE, TOMATO AND BASIL SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Cut the eggplant into ½" thick rounds. Lightly season them with salt on both sides and let sit on a paper towel for 30 minutes to let water to come out of the eggplant.
• Brush or drizzle olive oil on top of each slice and grill them for 2 -3 minutes each side until cooked.
• Blend the basil leaves with 4 tablespoons olive oil, 2 garlic cloves, lemon juice, and 1 teaspoon salt in a food processor or blender until smooth.
• Cut the tomatoes crosswise to 1/4" thick rounds.
• On an oiled baking pan or using parchment paper, arrange 4 eggplant rounds side by side. Spread 1/2 tablespoon of the basil-garlic mixture on top of each one, then generously sprinkle the cheese crumbs. Top each with tomato rings. Add another layer of eggplant, basil spread, cheese and tomato rounds and top with the rest of the crumbled feta. Make as many layers as you can. Usually, 1 large eggplant will make 4, 3 layer stacks.
• Bake for approximately 20-25 minutes until the tomatoes are wilted and the cheese is soft and melted.
• Enjoy!

EGGPLANT AND GOAT CHEESE CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Preheat grill or broiler.
• Cut the eggplant horizontally into slices one-half-inch thick. Cut any slices more than three inches in diameter in half. Very large slices should be quartered. Spread them on a work surface or baking sheet and sprinkle them on both sides with 3 tablespoons of the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.
• Grill the eggplant until attractively browned on both sides.
• Heat two tablespoons of the oil in a large, heavy skillet. Saute the onions over medium heat until the pieces are tender but not brown. Add the garlic and pepper and continue to saute until the pepper pieces are tender. Stir in the tomatoes. Season to taste with salt and pepper and stir in the thyme and the parsley.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Spread a fourth of the tomato mixture about two inches deep into the bottom of a one-and-a-half-quart baking dish. Arrange a layer of the eggplant over the tomato mixture, then crumble a third of the goat cheese over it. Repeat twice more, finishing with a layer of the tomato mixture. Sprinkle with the bread crumbs and drizzle with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil.
• Place in the oven and bake about 25 minutes, until heated through. Serve at once.

GOAT CHEESE WITH GRILLED EGGPLANT AND ROASTED PEPPERS ON OLIVE BREAD

Steps:

• 1. Spread goat cheese on one side of bread.
• 2. Place eggplant and pepper on the other piece of bread.
• 3. Close sandwich.
• 4. Spread evenly 1/2 teaspoon of butter onto each slice of bread.
• 5. Grill over moderate heat for approximately 3-4 minutes.
• *To grill eggplant:
• Slice thinly, brush with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste, and grill or broil for 4-5 minutes.
• **To roast peppers (also available in jars):
• Hold peppers over a flame until blackened, place peppers in a paper bag, peel and discard skins when cooled.