Marinated Eggplant With Capers And Mint Food

MARINATED EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Preheat your oven broiler.
• Arrange eggplant in 1 layer on a large baking sheet and brush both sides with 2 tablespoons oil (total). Broil about 4 inches from heat, turning once, until golden, 8 to 12 minutes total.
• Stir together vinegar, mint, capers, ¼ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon pepper, and remaining 3 tablespoons oil and toss with warm eggplant. Marinate at least 20 minutes.

GRILLED MARINATED EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Finely chop the parsley with the capers and garlic. Add the oregano and peperoncini and chop everything together. Put the mixture in a bowl, stir in the oil, season with salt and pepper, and reserve.
• Preheat an outdoor charcoal or gas grill or a grill pan until smoking hot.
• Put enough eggplant slices on the grill to cover it without crowding. Cook the eggplant until well marked, 3 to 6 minutes, then turn the slices over. Cook until tender, about 3 minutes more. Remove the eggplant from the grill.
• Pour the vinegar into a shallow bowl. While still hot, dip each eggplant slice into the vinegar and set it aside on a plate. Continue grilling and dipping the eggplant until all the slices are cooked and seasoned.
• Spoon 2 tablespoons of the parsley mixture onto a platter and spread it evenly with the back of a spoon. Arrange half of the grilled eggplant on the parsley in a single layer. Smear each slice of eggplant with more parsley. Place a second layer of eggplant on top and spread the remaining parsley on it. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and set aside to marinate at room temperature for about 2 hours (or refrigerate for longer). Serve at room temperature.
• Chef's notes:
• You could make the parsley mixture in a food processor, but I don't. I find hand chopping gives me the somewhat drier texture I prefer.
• For this recipe, I don't salt or oil the eggplant; I grill it dry. This way, it has a nice chewy texture. I marinate the eggplant as soon as it comes off the grill so the flavor of the marinade penetrates.

MARINATED EGGPLANT WITH GARLIC

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Peel eggplant and cut into 3 x 1/2-inch rectangular sticks.
• To sweat the eggplants, toss the sticks with salt and place them in a colander over a bowl or sink. Let sit to drain for at least 4 hours, up to overnight. (If overnight, cover and keep the colander and bowl in the fridge.)
• Squeeze out as much of the remaining liquid from the eggplant sticks as possible by placing them in a clean kitchen towel and pressing vigorously over a bowl.
• In a medium saucepan, bring water and vinegar to a boil. Add eggplant and cook until tender, about 5 to 8 minutes.
• Drain eggplant in a colander, set a plate on top to weigh it down, and let drain for at least 4 hours, up to overnight. (Again, if overnight, cover and chill like you did when sweating the eggplant sticks.)
• Vigorously squeeze small handfuls of the eggplant with the help of a clean kitchen towel and remove as much liquid as possible.
• In a large bowl, toss eggplant with garlic, chile flakes, any herbs, if using, and 3/4 cup of the olive oil.
• Transfer eggplant to a 1-quart jar, add enough olive oil to cover the eggplant, cover with a lid, and chill overnight before serving. When ready to serve, bring to room temperature before serving; any leftover marinated eggplant will last up to one week refrigerated.

EASY MARINATED EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Brush the slices of eggplant with olive oil then grill in a hot grill pan until softened and caramelized on both sides.
• Place the slices of eggplant into a large jar or sealable container.
• Mix all the marinade ingredients together, adjust seasoning as necessary and pour over the eggplant.
• Seal the jar or container and allow to marinade for at least 6 hours but up to 1-2 weeks in the fridge.

MELANZANE A SCAPECE (MARINATED EGGPLANT)

Steps:

• Trim off the stems of the eggplant and, depending on their size, cut them into quarters or halves (or thick slices, if large).
• Bring a big pot of well-salted water to the boil and drop in the eggplant pieces. Boil until tender but not mushy.
• Meanwhile, mix the marinade ingredients together in a mixing bowl. Taste for seasoning. If you think it needs it, add more salt, red pepper and/or vinegar to get the taste you like. The mixture should be very savory but not overwhelming.
• When the eggplant is tender, remove to a colander and let drain and cool off. When the eggplant is cool enough to handle, gently squeezing out any excess liquid with a paper towel, lay the pieces out in a baking dish or other shallow receptacle.
• Spoon the marinade over the eggplant. It should not quite cover the pieces. Marinate for at least 2-3 hours.
• Serve the eggplant, if you like sprinkled with minced parsley and additional red pepper flakes for color and piquancy. Perhaps a light sprinkling of salt, too, if it needs it.

MARINATED EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Place the eggplant slices on a paper towel. Sprinkle salt over both sides of eggplant and let sit for 30 minutes.
• (Eggplant will sweat) pat dry with towel.
• Preheat oven to 400°
• Drizzle 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil onto a baking sheet.
• Place sheet in oven for 5 minutes.
• Remove from oven and layer eggplant in hot oil , be careful of hot oil and do not overlap eggplant.
• Place in oven on top rack and bake for 8-10 minutes. Remove, flip eggplant and cook an additional 8-10 minutes or until eggplant is soft and starting to brown.
• Remove from oven and allow the eggplant to cool slightly.
• In a bowl stir together garlic, jalapeno, red pepper, capers, chopped parsley and 1/2 cup of olive oil.
• Place Eggplant slices in single layer in a rimmed serving dish slightly overlapping and season again with remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt and pepper.
• Pour topping over eggplant slices, cover and let marinate in refrigerator for at least 6 hours.

MARINATED EGGPLANT WITH CAPERS AND MINT

Steps:

• Preheat broiler.
• Arrange eggplant in 1 layer on a large baking sheet and brush both sides with 2 tablespoons oil (total). Broil about 4 inches from heat, turning once, until golden, 8 to 12 minutes total.
• Stir together vinegar, mint, capers, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and remaining 3 tablespoons oil and toss with warm eggplant. Marinate at least 20 minutes.

EGGPLANT STUFFED WITH ANCHOVIES, CAPERS, AND OLIVES

Steps:

• 1 Trim off the tops of the eggplants. Cut the eggplants in half lengthwise. With a small sharp knife and a spoon, scoop out the eggplant pulp, leaving a shell about 1/2 inch thick. Coarsely chop the pulp and place it in a colander. Sprinkle generously with salt and set over a plate to drain. Sprinkle the insides of the eggplant shells with salt and place them upside down on paper towels. Let drain for 30 minutes. 2 Rinse off the salt with cool water and dry the eggplant with paper towels. Squeeze the pulp to extract the water. 3 Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until a small piece of eggplant sizzles when added to the pan. Add the eggplant pulp and cook, stirring frequently, until it begins to brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, anchovies, olives, capers, oregano, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook until thickened, about 5 minutes more. 4 Place a rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Oil a baking pan just large enough to hold the eggplant shells in a single layer. 5 Fill the shells with the eggplant mixture. Place them in the pan. Toss the bread crumbs with the remaining oil and sprinkle them over the shells. Bake 45 minutes or until the shells are tender when pierced. Let cool slightly. Serve warm or at room temperature. From "1,000 Italian Recipes." Copyright 2004 by Michele Scicolone. Used with permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.