Eggplant Tomato And Smoked Mozzarella Tart Food

EGGPLANT, TOMATO AND MOZZARELLA PASTA BAKE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Season aggressively with salt. Add the rigatoni and cook 3 minutes less than the package directions. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water and drain.
• Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Toss the eggplant and tomatoes with 3 tablespoons olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spread on the baking sheet and roast until the eggplant is golden brown and tomatoes are tender, 25 to 30 minutes. (Leave the oven on.)
• Toss the rigatoni with the eggplant, tomatoes, about 1/4 cup pasta water and the marinara sauce in a large bowl. If it looks dry, add the remaining pasta water. Stir in 1 cup mozzarella.
• Spray a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with nonstick spray. Transfer the pasta to the baking dish and top with the remaining cup mozzarella and the Parmesan and drizzle with the remaining tablespoon olive oil. Bake until the cheese is melted and golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. (Turn the broiler on at the end if you want the cheese to brown more.) Garnish with additional Parmesan and the chopped basil and serve.

EGGPLANT AND TOMATO CASSEROLE WITH MOZZARELLA CHEESE

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Layer eggplant slices in a colander, salting each layer generously. Let stand for 30 minutes. Rinse well and pat dry.
• Heat a thin layer of olive oil in a large skillet or sauté pan over medium heat; add eggplant to the hot oil and cook, turning once, for about 5 minutes, or until lightly browned. Repeat until all eggplant slices are cooked, using as little oil as needed to fry the slices. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
• Add more oil to the skillet if needed; add onions and garlic. Cook until tender.
• Add the tomatoes to onion mixture along with the basil, and salt and pepper, to taste.
• Layer eggplant slices with the onion and tomato mixture in a shallow, lightly greased casserole.
• Bake the eggplant for 20 minutes at 350 F/180 C.
• Top with sliced or shredded Mozzarella cheese and bake for 8 minutes longer, or until cheese is melted.

GRILLED EGGPLANT WITH MOZZARELLA, TOMATOES, AND BASIL

Steps:

• Prepare a barbecue (or preheat a broiler). Cut the eggplants into slices about 1/2-inch thick. Spread on a baking sheet and brush with olive oil on both sides. Set aside.
• Cut mozzarella in half crosswise, then slice each half about 1/4-inch thick to create half-moon shaped pieces. Slice tomatoes in the same manner. Arrange tomatoes and mozzarella decoratively around the edge of a large serving platter.
• Place eggplant slices on barbecue (or place on baking sheet in broiler) and cook, turning once, until nicely charred on each side; the eggplant should almost caramelize. Arrange the cooked eggplant down the center of the serving platter, surrounded by the tomatoes and mozzarella. Pluck about 12 large leaves from the basil bunch, stack them, roll them up like a cigar, then slice crosswise into thin shreds (?chiffonade?). Scatter the basil shreds over the vegetables and cheese, then drizzle balsamic vinegar and more olive oil over all. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, to taste, and let stand until eggplant is at room temperature.

EGGPLANT, TOMATO, AND SMOKED MOZZARELLA TART

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°.
• To prepare crust, lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife.
• Combine flour and next 4 ingredients (flour through 1/4 teaspoon salt) in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk; make a well in center of mixture.
• Add water and 1 tablespoon oil, stirring to form a soft dough.
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; knead lightly 4 times.
• Gently press dough into a 4-inch circle on plastic wrap; cover and chill 15 minutes.
• Slightly overlap 2 sheets of plastic wrap on a slightly damp surface.
• Unwrap dough, and place chilled dough on plastic wrap.
• Cover with 2 additional sheets of overlapping plastic wrap.
• Roll dough, still covered, into an 11-inch circle.
• Remove top sheets of plastic wrap.
• Fit dough, plastic-wrap side up, into a 10-inch round ceramic tart dish coated with cooking spray.
• Remove remaining plastic wrap.
• Press dough against bottom and sides of pan.
• Pierce bottom and sides of dough with a fork; bake at 400° for 10 minutes.
• Cool completely on a wire rack.
• To prepare filling, arrange eggplant on several layers of heavy-duty paper towels.
• Sprinkle eggplant with 1/2 teaspoon salt; let stand 15 minutes.
• Pat dry with paper towels; brush eggplant with 1/2 teaspoon oil.
• Arrange eggplant in a single layer on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray.
• Bake at 400° for 20 minutes.
• Stack eggplant slices on a plate; cover with plastic wrap.
• Let eggplant stand 7 minutes to steam.
• Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium heat. Add garlic; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.
• Remove from heat; stir in 1/4 teaspoon salt, basil, oregano, mint, and tomatoes.
• Sprinkle 2 tablespoons smoked mozzarella on bottom of baked crust.
• Layer eggplant and tomato mixture in crust; sprinkle with 6 tablespoons smoked mozzarella and Parmesan.
• Bake at 400° for 10 minutes or until cheese melts.
• Cut into 8 wedges.

EGGPLANT, TOMATO, AND MOZZARELLA SALAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Brush two rimmed baking sheets with 1 tablespoon oil each. Arrange eggplant slices on sheets. Brush tops with 2 tablespoons oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast until eggplant is golden and tender, about 20 minutes. Let cool to room temperature.
• On a serving platter, layer eggplant with sliced mozzarella and tomatoes. Top with basil leaves and drizzle with remaining 2 tablespoons oil and balsamic vinegar.

TOMATO AND SMOKED MOZZARELLA TART

Steps:

• Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 425°F
• Dust work surface with flour and unfold both pieces puff pastry onto work surface. Following illustrations below, form 1 large sheet with border, using beaten egg as directed. Sprinkle Parmesan evenly over shell; using fork, uniformly and thoroughly poke holes in shell. Bake 13 to 15 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 350°F; continue to bake until golden brown and crisp, 13 to 15 minutes longer. Transfer to wire rack; increase oven temperature to 425°F
• While shell bakes, place tomato slices in single layer on double layer paper towels and sprinkle evenly with 1/2 teaspoon salt; let stand 30 minutes. Place second double layer paper towels on top of tomatoes and press firmly to dry tomatoes. Combine garlic, olive oil, and pinch each salt and pepper in small bowl; set aside.
• Sprinkle mozzarella evenly over warm (or cool, if made ahead) baked shell. Shingle tomato slices widthwise on top of cheese (about 4 slices per row); brush tomatoes with garlic oil. Bake until shell is deep golden brown and cheese is melted, 15 to 17 minutes. Cool on wire rack 5 minutes, sprinkle with basil, slide onto cutting board or serving platter, cut into pieces, and serve.

EGGPLANT PARMESAN WITH FRESH BASIL AND SMOKED MOZZARELLA

Steps:

• Line a plate with a paper towel; place a layer of 2 or 3 slices of eggplant onto the towel. Sprinkle eggplant with sea salt. Repeat layers of eggplant sprinkled with salt until all eggplant slices are stacked. Place 2 paper towels onto the stack and place a plate on top of the towels. Lay a heavy book or can of food onto the plate to squeeze out moisture. Allow to drip for 20 minutes to 2 hours. Rinse and pat dry.
• Beat eggs with milk in a shallow bowl. Place bread crumbs into a separate bowl. Dip eggplant slices in the egg mixture and gently press into the crumbs to coat; set aside.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease an 8x8-inch baking dish.
• Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat; fry eggplant slices in the hot oil in small batches until golden brown, about 1 to 2 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels.
• Pour about 1/4 cup of marinara sauce into the bottom of the prepared baking dish and arrange a layer of eggplant slices to cover the sauce. Scatter basil and a few slices of smoked mozzarella cheese over eggplant; repeat layers, ending with a layer of sauce on top. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over the top.
• Bake in the preheated oven until heated through and the cheese has melted, about 15 minutes. Serve immediately.