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GARLIC EGGPLANT WITH BLACK RICE



This is delicious and fairly easy.  I make a quick sauce using San Marzano (I used Cento) Whole Tomatoes for the sauce.  They are the best canned tomatoes you can buy and they can only say San Marzano if they are from San Marzano Italy.  I also use black rice which I've used in other recipes here.  It's got a nutty taste and adds a nice bite to the dish.  Add lots of baby spinach and fresh basil.




large eggplants
2 15 oz cans of San Marzano whole tomatoes
10-12 cloves of garlic
3 cups baby spinach
one box no boil lasagna noodles
1 cup fresh basil
2 cups cooked black rice
sea salt
black pepper
red pepper flakes (optional and about 1 teaspoon)

First I slice the eggplants into discs and I put them on a cooling rack over the sink, but you can make whatever contraption works for you.  Salt both sides of the eggplant.  Do all of them on one side first then flip and do the second side. The reason for this is by the time you're done salting them all on one side, the salt on the first ones will begin to stick as the salt draws out the liquid.  The purpose of all this is to draw out the liquid which can be bitter.  Leave them over something to drain (I'm doing it over the sink).  When they've been draining for about 30 minutes of more, rinse them off and pat them dry.



Preheat the oven to 375.  Put the two cans of tomatoes into a blender or food processor along with the garlic and 1 teaspoon of sea salt and 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper.  Blend to smooth.  Depending on the size of your blender or food processor, you may need to do this in batches.  If you do it in batches, pour everything into a large mixing bowl and stir together so it's evenly mixed.  You can add the red pepper flakes at this point if you're using any.  

Slice the eggplant into one inch slices.  Put a thin layer of sauce at the bottom of a lasagna pan.  Add the eggplant.  Pour more of the sauce over the eggplant.  Break the lasagna noodles into small, irregular shaped pieces and sprinkle these over  the sauce and stir the mixture so everything has some sauce on it.

Add the spinach and basil over the sauce and cover this with more sauce.  Add a layer of the black rice over this and cover with the remaining sauce.  Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour.  

Uncover and check the eggplant to see if it's soft.  Once it is, you're done.


Second night served over rotelli pasta



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