Roasted Eggplant Ragu With Polenta Food

ROASTED EGGPLANT RAGU WITH POLENTA

Steps:

• Preheat a cast iron skillet over medium high flame and roast the peppers until charred on all sides. Transfer to a bowl and cover with a lid or towel and allow to cool.
• Use a knife to poke the eggplant in a few places to help steam escape while roasting so the eggplants won't explode in your beautiful kitchen. Please poke them :-)
• You can use the same skillet you roasted the peppers on to cook the eggplants or broil both the peppers and eggplants until charred. Allow them to charr nicely on all sides then transfer to a bowl until cool enough to handle.
• Use your hands to remove the peels from both the roasted peppers and eggplants and discard the core.
• Transfer to a cutting board and dice the peppers. Finely chop the eggplant and set aside until needed. (Alternatively you can use a food processor if you prefer a smooth texture, we like it more rustic).
• Preheat a large skillet or pot over medium flame. Add a splash of water and saute the onion until translucent. Stir in the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook another minute or so until you can smell the fragrance.
• Stir in the smoked paprika, oregano and mushrooms and cook a few minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated. Add in the roasted peppers, eggplant and the San Marzano tomatoes together with the red wine. Give everything a good stir and bring to a simmer. Cover with a lid and cook for 45 minutes on low flame until the sauce has reduced and thickened to your liking. Season to taste with the sea salt.

EGGPLANT RAGU ON POLENTA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Toss eggplant with 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large bowl to coat; season with salt and pepper. Spread eggplant onto a large baking sheet; cover with aluminum foil. Roast in preheated oven until very soft, 60 to 70 minutes. While the eggplant roasts, heat remaining olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat; add onion and season with salt and pepper. Cook and stir onion until caramelized, 15 to 20 minutes. Scrape eggplant from the baking sheet directly into the onion mixture; stir. Add garlic and stir. Pour red wine into the pan to deglaze, scraping browned bits of food from the bottom of the pan with the flat edge of a wooden spoon, 2 to 3 minutes; add tomato puree, basil, sugar, chili flakes, and bay leaf and stir. Bring the liquid to a boil, reduce heat to low, and cook at a simmer, stirring frequently to make sure the mixture doesn't burn, until thickened to your preferred texture, at least 30 minutes to 2 hours. While the sauce simmers, bring water to a boil in a large pot; add salt. Slowly pour polenta into the water while stirring with a whisk; cook, stirring continually, until the mixture begins to thicken, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce heat to low and cook until smooth, 30 to 45 minutes. Remove bay leaf from sauce; discard. Spoon polenta into bowls; top with the eggplant ragu. Garnish with olive oil, Parmesan cheese, and basil.

EGGPLANT RAGOUT WITH CREAMY POLENTA RECIPE

Steps:

• Make the polenta: In a large pot, bring the water and the milk to a simmer. Using a whisk, slowly add the polenta, vigorously stirring to avoid clumps. Reduce the heat to low and allow to cook until the polenta is plump and swollen, not grainy, 40 to 50 minutes. Whisk every 7 to 10 minutes to ensure nothing sticks to the bottom of the pot or burns. Once the polenta is fully cooked, whisk in the cubes of cold butter one at a time until the butter is fully melted and emulsified into the polenta. Season with white pepper and kosher salt.
• While the polenta is cooking, prep the eggplant: Slice the heirloom baby eggplants into ½-inch-thick coins, and then roughly chop the large eggplant. Place the peeled eggplant in a food processor along with the garlic and shallots, and purée until smooth.
• In a large sauté pan over medium-high heat, add ¼ cup of the olive oil. Once the olive oil is hot and the pan is just below smoking, add the coins of baby eggplant. Sear cut-sides down until deep golden brown, 5 minutes on each side. Remove from the heat and reserve for later use.
• In the same sauté pan, heat ½ cup of the olive oil over low heat, add the eggplant purée and sweat until all the moisture has evaporated, 15 to 18 minutes. Deglaze the pan with the red wine and simmer until the wine has completely reduced, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the canned tomatoes and break up the large tomato chunks with a wooden spoon. Mix in the reserved seared eggplant, lemon juice and honey, and simmer for another 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in the chiffonade of basil and parsley , the remaining ¼ cup of olive oil, and season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Plate the eggplant ragout over the polenta; garnish with the Parmesan cheese, basil and oregano leaves, wild onion blossoms and a squeeze of a lemon wedge; and serve.

LAYERED EGGPLANT AND POLENTA CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400ºF degrees with rack in upper third.
• In a medium saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat; add the onion, garlic, and mushrooms cook, stirring, until soft and lightly golden, about 8 minutes.
• Add tomatoes and salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce has thickened, about 30 minutes.
• Stir in vinegar, oregano, basil & Italian seasoning; season with pepper.
• Remove sauce from heat.
• Meanwhile, heat a large cast-iron skillet or grill pan over medium heat; lightly brush eggplant slices with the remaining tablespoon oil.
• Working in batches, lay slices in skillet in a single layer; cook until browned and they begin to soften, 2 to 3 minutes per side.
• Transfer to a plate.
• Spoon about a cup tomato sauce into a 9-inch square baking dish, spreading to coat evenly; arrange eggplant slices snugly in a single layer.
• Spoon about 1 cup tomato sauce over eggplant, and arrange polenta rounds in slightly overlapping slices on top.
• Repeat with sauce and another layer of eggplant.
• Finish by dotting with remaining tomato sauce.
• Cover with foil; bake until bubbling and juicy, about 30 minutes.
• Remove foil; continue baking until sauce is lightly caramelized and eggplant is tender, about 15 minutes more.
• Remove from oven; let cool slightly, and serve.

ITALIAN EGGPLANT RAGOUT

Steps:

• Scoop out center and seeds of eggplant halves. Cut eggplants into 3/4 inch dice. Toss with salt in bowl and let it stand for at least 20 minutes. Drain off the fluid that collects, rinse well, and pat dry.
• Heat olive oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, and saute until softened (about 5 minutes.) Add garlic, and cook 1 minute more, or until fragrant. Stir in tomatoes, chickpeas, and eggplants. Reduce heat to medium-low, and cook 15 minutes, or until eggplants are tender but not mushy.
• Stir in capers and sugar, and cook 2 minutes more. Fold in parsley, and season with black pepper.

QUINOA CAKES WITH EGGPLANT-TOMATO RAGù AND SMOKED MOZZARELLA

Steps:

• Make quinoa cakes:
• Bring water and 1/2 teaspoon salt to a boil in a heavy medium saucepan.
• Meanwhile, wash quinoa in 3 changes of water in a bowl, then drain well in a fine-mesh sieve.
• Stir quinoa into boiling water and return to a boil, then simmer, covered, until quinoa is dry and water is absorbed, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, 5 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and cool, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes, then stir in egg.
• Line a baking sheet with plastic wrap and lightly brush with oil. Lightly oil a 1-cup dry-ingredient measure. Pack enough quinoa into measure with a rubber spatula to fill it two-thirds full. (If spatula becomes sticky, dip in water.) Unmold onto baking sheet and gently pat quinoa into a 4-inch-wide patty with spatula. Make 3 more quinoa cakes, brushing measure with oil each time. Chill cakes, uncovered, at least 15 minutes.
• Make topping while quinoa cooks and chills:
• Toss eggplant with 1 teaspoon salt in a colander and drain 30 minutes. Squeeze handfuls of eggplant to extract liquid, then pat dry.
• Cook eggplant, onion, garlic, oregano, and 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper in oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium heat, covered, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, roasted peppers, and water and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until eggplant is very tender and mixture is thick (if dry, thin with a little water), about 10 minutes.
• Cook quinoa cakes:
• Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until it shimmers. Carefully add quinoa cakes and cook, turning once carefully and adding remaining 2 to 3 tablespoons oil, until crisp and golden, 8 to 10 minutes total (pat cakes to reshape with cleaned rubber spatula while cooking if necessary). Transfer to plates.
• To serve:
• Return eggplant ragù to a simmer and stir in parsley and half of mozzarella, then simmer, stirring, until cheese just begins to soften, about 30 seconds. Spoon over quinoa cakes, then sprinkle with remaining mozzarella.

MARIO'S EGGPLANT RAGU

Steps:

• Sprinkle the eggplant with 1 tablespoon salt and drain in a colander for 30 minutes. Rinse, pat dry and cut in 1/4-inch dice.
• In a large skillet, heat the oil over high heat. Add the eggplant, peppers and garlic. Cook, stirring frequently, for 10 minutes. Lower the heat to medium and cover. Cook for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the tomatoes and cook, uncovered, stirring, for 5 minutes. Season with 1 tablespoon salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the basil and let sit for 5 minutes before serving with pasta or polenta.