Eggplant Cream With Feta Pesto Food

EGGPLANT CREAM WITH FETA PESTO

Steps:

• Prick eggplant, place them in a baking pan and bake at 350F in the oven for about one hour or until soft (or broil the eggplant for about 15 mintues turning several times, check if soft).
• Allow skin to shrivel and turn black so as to give a smoky flavor to the salad.
• Peel eggplant while still hot and chop flesh into pieces. Drain if necessary over a colander.
• Blend eggplant with garlic, oil, lemon or vinegar, salt and pepper together until smooth.
• With the fork work together cheese and pesto until combined.
• Spoon eggplant cream in cups (as smaller as prettier).
• Place tomato pieces over the cream.
• Spoon a smaller amount of cheese-pesto over tomatoes.
• Top with a small piece of feta or Camembert cheese and decorate with herbs.

FETA PESTO

Steps:

• In a food processor, combine the basil, feta cheese, Parmesan cheese, pine nuts, artichoke heart, and sun-dried tomatoes. Cover, and pulse, adding oil as needed to facilitate blending until smooth. Taste, and season with salt and pepper.

GRILLED EGGPLANT PANINI

Steps:

• Sprinkle the eggplant slices with salt and let sit for 15 minutes. Pat dry and brush lightly with olive oil.
• Preheat a panini grill and place the eggplant slices in it in an even layer. Grill 3 minutes, until cooked through and nicely marked by the grill. Remove from the heat.
• Spread a little pesto on the bottom slice of bread. Top with a layer of eggplant slices, then a layer of pepper or tomato slices. Sprinkle with freshly ground pepper. Top with the grated cheese and the other slice of bread. Brush the outside of both the bottom and the top pieces of bread with olive oil. Grill 5 minutes, or until nicely toasted and the cheese has melted. Remove from the panini grill and cut into halves or thirds, depending on the size of the bread. Serve hot.

ROASTED EGGPLANT AND GARLIC WITH PASTA

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees.
• Slice garlic head in half, horizontally, and sprinkle with olive oil then wrap entire head in aluminum foil.
• On a baking sheet, roast the whole eggplant and garlic until soft, about 45 minutes.
• Remove from oven and let cool.
• Squeeze out soft garlic cloves, peel and chop eggplant into bite size pieces.
• Heat skillet and add remaining olive oil, lightly sauté garlic and eggplant, season with salt and pepper.
• Add chicken broth, parsley and lemon juice and simmer until reduced by half.
• Rough chop basil.
• Add butter and basil leaves and stir well.
• Cook pasta according to package directions, drain and toss with eggplant mixture.
• Top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and serve.

EGGPLANTS WITH PESTO

Steps:

• Preheat the oven's broiler and set the oven rack about 6 inches from the heat source.
• Heat 1/2 cup olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. While heating the oil, cut slits in a crisscross pattern in the 'meat' of the eggplant halves, being careful not to pierce the skin. This will allow the heat and oil to penetrate better. Lightly season the eggplant with salt and pepper; gently lay the eggplant halves into the hot oil, skin sides facing up, and fry until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Flip the eggplant halves and cook another 2 to 3 minutes. Remove and allow to drain on a plate lined with paper towels.
• Make the pesto by blending the basil, garlic, pine nuts, Parmesan cheese, and about half of the extra-virgin olive oil in a blender on Low until smooth; slowly stream the remaining extra-virgin olive oil into the mixture as it blends.
• Arrange the eggplant halves in a broiler pan with the skin sides down. Slather the pesto over the surface of the eggplant.
• Cook the eggplants under the broiler until the pesto begins to bubble, 7 to 10 minutes.