Running the risk that any eggplant dependent readers ( come on i know you are out there, closeted and afraid..) will starve.. here is my best GUESS, and i mean it, on how i make my favorite eggplant dishes.
1 large eggplant or 2 smaller japanese will do, deskinned and cubed to 1 inch
1 red pepper, cut into 1 inch squares
1 green pepper, cut into 1 inch squares
1 red onion
2 zucchini squash, you can use yellow summer squash as well, cut into solid chunks
2Tbsp Olive oil
a few dashs of sea salt
alot of fresh oregano ( ok i used about 1/2 of that packet you buy since i dont grow it) or dried use a liberal amount, like 2-3 good solid shakes.
4 Large tomatoes, I dont de skin them or de-seed them I just cut them into about 8 pieces. It will get all mooshed up anyways so doesnt need to be pretty.
Thought on the veggies is that if you want the veggies to last with leftovers and not get soggy you gotta cut them a bit bigger. no pureeing here.
Saute the eggplant in the sea salt and 1 Tbsp olive oil. You want to do this on lower heat and let the eggplant soak up some of the oil and get a bit softer. Add the onion ( also cut up into 1 inch pieces) and a bit more of the olive oil. Get that sauteeing on a bit higher heat. Now start to add the tomatoes to get some liquid in there. IF you want I sometimes add a dash of chicken or veggie broth but once the tomatoes get in there it will get to be more liquid. Also add your oregano.
Add the remaning veggies and simmer on a lower heat till the tomatoes have broken up and it has a stew like consistency. Not soupy but stew like.
Take it off the heat and let it sit and then refrigerate till you want to eat it.
OR...let it cool off a bit and start gathering your greek olives, greek mizithra cheese ( or goat cheese or feta will do), and decide if you want to serve it over brown rice or over whole wheat penne or with a hunk of good bread...
It is really good if you also add mushrooms...broccoli got too soggy and stinks when it is reheated...It is also really good as an omlette filling.
This is kind of made up but is good!
1 eggplant, medium sized SKIN ON.
1/2 cup Feta cheese
1/2 cup depitted greek olives, whatever you like..
1/2 cup hummus ( i use the greek hummus that has some greek spices in it already and some cucumber sauce..I think) HolyLand for you MN locals
1 Tbsp of Salsa Lisa Chipotle Salsa ( again local, get Salsa Lisa, she rocks)
Coat the Eggplant with olive oil and then broil under a medium hot broiler. You could grill it i suppose, but dont char the skin so much that the insides dont get cooked and soggy. It takes me about 10 minutes of rotating the eggplant to get it soft inside. Not soft mushy but soft enough that you can then:
Remove the skin ( hot hot hot, use caution) and manually (well you can use the blender but it isnt that hard to moosh it into a bowl with a fork) get the eggplant into a pureed form. Some chunks are great ... dont make it into smoothie consistency. Gross.
Let it cool a bit, and then add the hummus, the feta, the olives ( left them whole but make sure to take the pits out) and the hummus. Refrigerate.
This is maybe just a way to hide eggplant in hummus and salsa, but it works for me. The little chunks give it enough body to feel like it can supplement a meal. I eat it on veggies, on corn tortillas, or i put it on new potatoes. It is a good substitute for butter on good bread if you want something spreadable.