Spiced Peppers And Eggplant Recipes

SPICY STIR-FRIED EGGPLANT AND PEPPERS

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a stir-fry pan. Add the garlic and sauté over medium-low heat until golden.
• Cut the Japanese eggplants into 1/4-inch thick slices. Or, if using regular eggplant, quarter lengthwise, then into 1/4-inch thick slices.
• Add the eggplant and bell peppers to the pan, followed by the wine, hoisin sauce, ginger, and soy sauce. Cook, covered, over medium heat for 5 minutes, or until the eggplant is nearly tender. Lift the lid once or twice during that time to stir.
• Stir-fry, uncovered, for 5 minutes longer, or until the eggplant is just tender.
• Season to taste with soy sauce and spicy seasoning.
• Serve at once with hot cooked rice or noodles with either or both of the optional garnishes.

GRILLED EGGPLANT, PEPPERS AND ONIONS

Steps:

• Prepare a bed of hot coals in a charcoal grill, or heat a stovetop grill to medium-high. Arrange eggplants, onions and peppers on a baking sheet. Paint vegetables lightly on both sides with olive oil.
• Working in batches, grill all vegetables on both sides until softened and lightly charred, about 5 to 6 minutes per side. When all vegetables are cooked, chop them into rough chunks and place in a mixing bowl. Drizzle with 3 tablespoons olive oil and the vinegar. Season well with salt and pepper and toss to coat. Add capers and toss again.
• Transfer mixture to a serving dish and sprinkle with oregano and crushed red pepper. Serve at room temperature.

EGGPLANT AND RED PEPPER BAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• Mix red bell pepper, onion, and garlic in a large mixing bowl; season with basil, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Drizzle olive oil and balsamic vinegar over the pepper mixture; toss to coat the vegetables evenly.
• Brush eggplant slices with olive oil to coat thinly.
• Spread about 1/3 of the pepper mixture into the bottom of a square glass baking dish; top with a layer of about 1/3 of the eggplant. Repeat layering twice more. Top final layer with mozzarella cheese.
• Bake in preheated oven until the cheese is browned and the vegetables are bubbling, 35 to 40 minutes.

SPICY RED-PEPPER AND EGGPLANT CONFIT

Steps:

• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 400°F.
• Cut peppers into 1-inch pieces. Toss together all ingredients in a large roasting pan, then spread evenly. Roast, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are very tender, about 1 hour. Cool before serving.

SPICED EGGPLANT-STUFFED PEPPERS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F. Prick both eggplants several times with a fork; place on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast 30 to 35 minutes or until soft all over when touched. Cool about 15 minutes or until easy to handle. Reduce oven temperature to 375°F.
• Meanwhile, drain liquid from canned tomatoes into bottom of a 3-qt. baking dish. Add minced garlic, 1½ teaspoons of the cumin, and ¼ teaspoon each of the paprika and coriander; mix well.
• Coarsely chop drained tomatoes; spread half of the tomatoes in baking dish. Place the remaining tomatoes in a medium bowl.
• Peel and coarsely chop eggplants. Add eggplants, chickpeas, onion, and chopped garlic to bowl with tomatoes. Stir in the remaining 1 teaspoon each cumin, paprika, and coriander.
• Cut off pepper tops and set aside; remove seeds and membranes. Spoon eggplant mixture into peppers. Place peppers in the baking dish.
• Bake 30 minutes. Place tops on peppers; bake 30 minutes more or until peppers are tender and tops start to brown. Serve warm or at room temperature with pan sauce on the side.

SPICED LAMB-STUFFED EGGPLANTS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Cut the eggplants in half lengthwise, including the stems. Using a sharp paring knife, scoop out some of the flesh, leaving a shell that is 1/3 inch thick and reserving the scooped-out eggplant. Place the eggplant shells snugly in a single layer in a large (10-by-14-inch) rectangular baking dish. Brush the eggplant all over with 1/4 cup olive oil (use it all!) and sprinkle with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 3/4 teaspoon pepper. Pour 1/4 cup water in the baking dish, cover tightly with aluminum foil, and bake for 30 minutes, until the shells are tender when pierced with a small knife. Remove from the oven, discard the foil, and leave the oven on.
• Meanwhile, for the lamb filling, in a large (12-inch) skillet, heat 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and saute for 5 minutes, tossing occasionally, until tender. Cut the reserved scooped-out eggplant into 1/2-inch dice (you should have about 2 cups). Add the eggplant to the onion and cook for 5 minutes, adding more oil if it seems dry. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add the ground lamb and cook, mashing lightly with a fork, for 5 to 7 minutes, until no longer pink. Add the oregano and cinnamon and cook for one minute. Add the wine, tomatoes, marinara, parsley, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer uncovered for 25 to 30 minutes, until the liquid evaporates. Spoon the filling into the eggplant halves in the baking dish. (You may have a little extra filling.)
• In a medium bowl, mash the ricotta, goat cheese, egg yolks, mint, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper with a fork. With a spoon, place large dollops of the ricotta mixture on the lamb filling and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the filling is hot and the topping is lightly browned. Serve warm, sprinkled with extra mint.

STIR-FRIED RAINBOW PEPPERS, EGGPLANT AND TOFU

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Cut the eggplant in half lengthwise and score down to but not through the skin. Line a baking sheet with parchment or foil, lightly oil the foil and place the eggplant on it, cut side down. Roast for 15 to 20 minutes, until the skin begins to shrivel. Remove from the oven, allow to cool until you can handle it, and cut in half along the score down the middle of each half, then into 1/2-inch slices
• Combine the rice wine or sherry, the hoisin sauce and the soy sauce in a small bowl and set aside
• Heat a 14-inch flat-bottomed wok or 12-inch steel skillet over high heat until a drop of water evaporates within a second or two when added to the pan. Swirl in 1 tablespoon of the oil and add the tofu. Let it sit in the pan for about 30 seconds, until it begins to sear, then stir-fry for about 2 minutes, until lightly colored. Transfer to a plate
• Swirl in the remaining oil, then add the garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes and stir-fry for no more than 10 seconds. Add the peppers and eggplant, sprinkle with salt to taste and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Return the tofu to the wok, add the hoisin sauce mixture and stir-fry for another 1 to 2 minutes, until the eggplant is tender and infused with the sauce and the peppers are crisp-tender. Remove from the heat and serve with rice, grains or noodles

ROASTED PEPPERS, ONION, AND EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Place whole peppers in one third of an oiled, large 1-inch-deep baking pan. Brush cut sides of eggplants with 1/2 tablespoon oil and arrange next to peppers in pan. Toss onion with 1 tablespoon oil and spread in remaining third of pan.
• Roast vegetables, turning peppers occasionally, until skins of peppers blister on all sides, about 40 minutes. Transfer peppers to a bowl, cover, and let steam 10 minutes. Continue roasting eggplants and onion until tender and browned, 20 to 30 minutes more, and keep warm, covered.
• Peel peppers and cut into 1/2-inch-thick strips, discarding stems and seeds. Season vegetables with sea salt and pepper. Serve eggplants topped with peppers and onion. Drizzle with remaining oil and season with sea salt.

SPICY EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat until almost smoking. Cook and stir the eggplant cubes until they begin to brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove the eggplant with a slotted spoon, and set aside.
• Heat 2 more tablespoons of oil in the skillet over medium-high heat, and cook and stir the onions just until they begin to soften, about 30 seconds. Stir in the garlic, and cook and stir an additional 30 seconds. Mix in the soy sauce, water, oyster sauce, chili garlic sauce, sugar, and black pepper, and stir to form a smooth sauce. Return the eggplant to the skillet, lower the heat, and allow the vegetables and sauce to simmer until the eggplant is tender and almost all the liquid has been absorbed, about 5 minutes. Drizzle sesame oil over the dish, and give one final brief stir to combine.