Roast Eggplant With Cheese Recipes

ROASTED EGGPLANT-YOGURT CHEESE DIP

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400. Using a fork, prick eggplant in several places to keep it from bursting. Put on a baking sheet and roast on oven's center rack for 30 to 45 minutes, or until it can be easily pierced with a knife. Let eggplant cool until safe to handle
• Remove skin from eggplant and put flesh in a food processor along with olive oil, garlic, yogurt cheese, lemon juice, salt and cayenne. Pulse mixture until smooth and thoroughly combined, about 20 to 30 seconds. Taste, adjust seasoning and serve with toasted pita chips or crudités.

CHEESY BAKED EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Brush eggplant slices with olive oil on both sides, and place them on a baking sheet. Sprinkle garlic powder over the top. Bake for 10 minutes.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, tomatoes and spinach. Cook and stir for a few minutes until fragrant, and the tomatoes have released their juices. In a medium bowl, mix together 1/2 cup of ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese, and 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese. Set aside.
• Place the eggplant slices in a greased 9x13 inch baking dish. Top with the spinach mixture. Spoon the cheese mixture over the spinach, and spread into a thin layer. Pour the spaghetti sauce over the cheese layer. Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese over the top. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning.
• Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until heated through and the eggplant is easily pierced with a fork.

ROASTED EGGPLANT PARMESAN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and arrange three racks evenly spaced.
• Lay the eggplant in one layer on three sheet pans and brush both sides with olive oil, using all the oil. Sprinkle with the oregano, crushing it lightly in your hands, then sprinkle with 1 1/2 tablespoons salt and 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper. Bake for 15 minutes. Turn the slices and rotate the pans in the oven and bake for another 10 minutes, until tender. Leave the oven at 400 degrees F.
• In a 10 by 14 by 2-inch ceramic baking dish, spread a third of the marinara sauce. Arrange a third of the eggplant on top in one layer. Scatter a third of the basil, a third of the mozzarella, a third of the goat cheese, and a third of the Parmesan on top. Repeat twice, starting with the marinara and ending with the Parmesan, making sure each layer is evenly distributed.
• For the topping, place the bread crumbs, garlic, and basil in a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the 1/4 cup olive oil and 1 teaspoon salt and pulse to moisten the crumbs. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the dish.
• Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until bubbling and golden brown. Allow to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving.

BOW TIES WITH ROASTED EGGPLANT AND THREE CHEESES

Steps:

• Heat covered 4 qt saucepan of salted water to boiling.
• Preheat broiler.
• Rub garlic, whole red pepper and eggplant halves with oil;place in broiling pan (without rack); place pan in broiler about 4 inches from heat& broil vegs until garlic is lightly browned (about 8 min), skin on pepper is blistered and charred and eggplant is fork tender (about 14 min), turning vegs occasionally& removing them as they are done; do not turn broiler off.
• Cool vegs and peel off skin from pepper; cut pepper in half& discard seeds& stem; peel eggplant& cut into 1/2 inch dice; place in large bowl.
• Cook pasta in boiling water.
• While pasta is cooking, in covered blender pulse pepper, garlic and dried tomato until pureed; add puree, mozzarella, cream, basil and 3/4 cup parmesan to eggplant in bowl.
• Drain pasta; add to eggplant mixture, stirring to coat evenly; spoon pasta mixture into broiler safe baking dish; dot with ricotta& sprinkle with remaining parmesan; place baking dish in broiler about 4 inches from heat& broil 6 minutes or until ricotta is browned& sauce is bubbling.

EGGPLANT, ROASTED PEPPER, AND GOAT CHEESE TERRINE WITH PARSLEY SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat the broiler. Arrange the eggplant slices in one layer on baking sheets, brush both sides of the eggplant with the oil, and sprinkle them with salt to taste. Broil the eggplant in batches about 4 inches from the heat for 4 to 5 minutes on each side, or until it is golden and tender, and transfer it with a metal spatula to paper towels to drain.
• Line a loaf pan, 8 1/2 by 4 1/2 by 2 1/2 inches, with plastic wrap, leaving a 3-inch overhang, and in it arrange the eggplant, the olive paste, the bell peppers, and the goat cheese in several layers, beginning and ending with the eggplant. Cover the eggplant with the plastic overhang, weight the terrine with a 3-to-4-pound weight (such as a loaf pan filled with canned goods), and chill it for 24 hours. (The terrine may be made 3 days in advance).
• Remove the weight, invert the terrine onto a cutting board, and discard the plastic wrap. Cut four 3/4-inch-thick slices from the terrine, pour about 2 tablespoons of the parsley sauce onto the center of each of 4 plates, tilting the plates to spread the sauce, and arrange a slice of the terrine on each plate. Garnish each serving with a parsley spring.
• To roast peppers:
• Using a long-handled fork char the peppers over an open flame, turning them, for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the skins are blackened. (Or broil the peppers on the rack of a broiler pan under a preheated broiler about 2 inches from the heat, turning them every 5 minutes, for 15 to 25 minutes, or until the skins are blistered and charred.) Transfer the peppers to a bowl and let them steam, covered until they are cool enough to handle. Keeping the peppers whole, peel them starting at the blossom end, cut off the tops, and discard the seeds and ribs. (Wear rubber gloves when handling chilies.)
• Parsley sauce:
• In a blender purée the parsley and the garlic with the vinegar, the water, the oil, and salt and pepper to taste until the sauce is smooth and strain it through a fine sieve set over a small bowl, pressing hard on the solids. Makes about 1/2 cup.

ROAST EGGPLANT WITH CHEESE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F Score the cut sides of the eggplant in a criss-cross pattern with a sharp knife. Drizzle with the olive oil and bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until tender. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.
• Carefully scoop out the flesh from the eggplants without damaging the skins. Finely chop the flesh and put into a bowl. Mix together with the tahini, garlic, spices, thyme, lemon juice and seasoning.
• Fold in the goat cheese and cherry tomatoes and spoon back into the eggplant skins.
• Place on a baking tray and scatter the cheese over the top. Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes until the cheese is golden and bubbling. Serve immediately with rice and salad.