Grilled Eggplant And Tomato Pasta Food

ROASTED EGGPLANT AND TOMATO PASTA

Steps:

• Heat oven to 450 degrees. Spread out eggplant cubes and peppers on a rimmed baking sheet. Toss with 3 tablespoons oil and season well with salt. Roast, turning everything, until eggplant and peppers are very soft and deeply golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes.
• Meanwhile, cook pasta in well-salted boiling water until about 1 minute shy of al dente. Drain.
• Using the large holes of a box grater, grate tomatoes over a large skillet so the pulp falls into the skillet. To do this, hold on to the curved side of the tomato in your hand and slide the cut, flat side across the holes. Stop grating just before you reach the skin.
• Add the garlic, red pepper flakes and 1 tablespoon olive oil to the pan with the tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Simmer until tomato pulp is reduced by half, then season to taste with salt.
• Add the pasta, capers and butter, if using, to the pan with the tomatoes and bring to a simmer, tossing until butter melts and pasta finishes cooking, about 1 minute. Turn off the heat and toss in eggplant and cheese, if using.
• Serve pasta drizzled with a little more oil and the herbs.

EGGPLANT MIXED GRILL

Steps:

• In a large resealable plastic bag, mix the olive oil, parsley, oregano, basil, vinegar, kosher salt, pepper, and garlic. Place the onion, asparagus, mushrooms, eggplant, red bell pepper, and yellow bell pepper into the bag. Seal, and marinate 2 hours in the refrigerator, turning occasionally
• Preheat the grill for high heat.
• Lightly oil the grill grate. Grill the vegetables 6 minutes on each side, until tender.

SUMMER PASTA WITH GRILLED EGGPLANT SAUCE

Steps:

• Prepare a grill for high heat.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the lemon juice to the boiling water and cook the pasta according to the package directions for al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water, drain the pasta and return it to the pot; set aside.
• Pierce the eggplant a few times with a fork or knife. Place on the grill, cover and cook, turning every 8 to 10 minutes, until completely charred all over and the flesh is soft when pressed, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and let cool slightly for 10 minutes.
• While the eggplant cooks, prepare 2 sheets of foil, each 12-by-12-inches, and stack them together. Place the tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of black pepper in the center of the foil. Fold over 2 opposite sides of the foil then fold in the remaining sides to create a tight seal. When 15 minutes of cooking time remain for the eggplant, add the foil pack to the grill and cook until juices start to bubble out of the top (this means the tomatoes and garlic are sufficiently cooked without having to open the pack), 13 to 15 minutes.
• Remove the eggplant to a cutting board (keeping any juices that accumulated in the bowl) and squeeze gently to crack the skin and expose the flesh. Use a spoon to remove the flesh, transfer to the large bowl and mash lightly with the spoon or a potato masher (you should have about 1 cup of flesh); discard the skin. Stir in the ricotta and Pecorino Romano until smooth then pour into the pot with the pasta and mix until combined. Fold in the contents of the foil pack (including any juices that accumulated), the basil, parsley, lemon zest, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of black pepper; stir until combined, adding the reserved pasta water, 1 tablespoon at a time, to thin out the sauce if needed. Serve with more basil, parsley, Pecorino Romano and crushed red pepper flakes if using.

PENNE WITH GRILLED TOMATOES AND EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Prepare barbecue (medium heat). Spray both sides of eggplant slices and tomato halves with olive oil spray. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill eggplant slices until brown and tender and tomato halves until charred, turning occasionally, about 10 minutes for eggplant slices and about 7 minutes for tomato halves. Cool.
• Cut eggplant into 1/2-inch-wide strips. Cut tomatoes into 1-inch pieces.
• Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite. Drain pasta. Return pasta to same pot.
• Add eggplant, tomatoes, parsley, olive oil and garlic to pasta and toss to blend. Stir in grated cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve warm or at room temperature. (Can be prepared 2 hours ahead.)

EGGPLANT AND TOMATO PASTA

Steps:

• Place eggplant in a colander and season generously with salt. Fill a 1-gallon plastic bag with water, seal tightly and place over eggplant to weigh down. Let stand for 40 minutes.
• Rinse the salt off the eggplant, and pat dry. Place the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, add eggplant and cook, stirring often, until golden brown on all sides, about 20 minutes.
• Add garlic, tomatoes and their juice to the pan. Stir in the sugar and salt. Simmer until sauce has slightly thickened, about 15 to 20 minutes or longer depending on how juicy your tomatoes are. Taste and adjust seasonings. Add the basil and cook 1 minute more. Serve over pasta.

GRILLED EGGPLANT LASAGNA WITH TOMATOES AND THREE CHEESES

Steps:

• Using an 8 x 11 inch baking dish (or a dish about tht size).
• Layer the eggplant with salt in a colander.
• Set the colander on a large plate for 20 minutes.
• Rinse the eggplant slices and pat dry.
• Drizzle the eggplant on both sides with oil.
• Cook on a grill, turning often, until cooked through.
• Remove from the grill and set aside.
• Set the over to 350 degrees.
• Rub the inside of the baking dish with oil.
• Layer as follows: Place several slices of eggplant in the dish.
• Add black pepper, 1/2 the basil, 1/2 the tomatoes, 1/3 of the Fontina, 1/3 of the mozzarella, 1/3 of the Romano.
• Continue layering in this way until you have made: 3 layers of eggplant and 2 layers of tomatoes.
• Sprinkle the top layer with the remaining cheese.
• Transfer the dish to the oven and bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until the cheese browns and the juices are bubbling at the edges.
• Serve at once.

GRILLED EGGPLANT WITH RICOTTA AND TOMATO

Steps:

• Heat the grill to high.
• Brush the eggplant slices with some of the oil.
• Grill the eggplant slices on both sides until brown, then place them in the bottom of a lightly greased, small shallow baking pan that will fit under the grill, and set aside.
• Over a medium heat, add the rest of the oil to a small sauté pan (preferably non-stick), add the cherry tomatoes and garlic and sauté for a couple of minutes, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes begin to soften.
• While still stirring, add the capers and leave the pan over the heat for an additional minute.
• Remove the pan from the heat.
• Cover the eggplant slices with the tomato, garlic and capers, season to taste and spoon the ricotta over the tomatoes. (The amount of ricotta included in the ingredients may not completely cover the tomatoes; if you want to cover the tomatoes, use more ricotta.).
• Place the baking pan under the grill until the ricotta starts to bubble.
• Scatter the basil leaves over the top and serve.

PASTA WITH GRILLED EGGPLANT SAUCE

Steps:

• Slice the eggplants horizontally one-half-inch thick. Dust the slices with salt, place in a colander over a bowl and set aside for 30 minutes.
• Light a barbecue or an oven broiler.
• After 30 minutes rinse the salted eggplant in cold water and pat dry on paper towels. Brush the eggplant slices with four tablespoons of the olive oil and grill or broil them, turning them once, until they are lightly browned.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the pasta.
• While the water is coming to a boil, heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet. Add the onion and saute over medium heat until it turns golden, add the garlic and saute a few seconds longer. Chop the grilled eggplant and add it to the skillet. Remove from heat.
• Boil the pasta until it is al dente, about eight minutes. Drain it. Reheat the onion and eggplant mixture in the skillet and add the tomatoes. Mix. Add the pasta, mix again, fold in the basil and season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Serve at once with Parmesan cheese on the side.

GRILLED VEGETABLES WITH SPICY ITALIAN NEONATA

Steps:

• Heat a grill to medium and oil the grates.
• On two large sheet pans, divide bell peppers, zucchini and eggplant. Drizzle the contents of each sheet pan with 1/4 cup olive oil. Season with salt and black pepper, and toss to evenly coat. In batches, grill the vegetables, turning occasionally, until cut sides are tender and lightly charred, 3 to 5 minutes for the lettuce, 8 to 10 minutes for the zucchini, and 10 to 12 minutes for the peppers and eggplant. Transfer them to one very large (or two large) serving platters as they finish cooking.
• Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine lemon juice, anchovies and garlic; whisk until well blended. And salami, cherry peppers, olives, celery, parsley and the remaining 3/4 cup oil, and mix well. (Makes about 2 cups neonata.)
• Generously drizzle or spoon some of the neonata over the grilled vegetables. Serve vegetables warm or at room temperature, with the remaining neonata on the side.