Spiced Peppers And Eggplant Food

SPICY STIR-FRIED EGGPLANT AND PEPPERS

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a stir-fry pan. Add the garlic and sauté over medium-low heat until golden.
• Cut the Japanese eggplants into 1/4-inch thick slices. Or, if using regular eggplant, quarter lengthwise, then into 1/4-inch thick slices.
• Add the eggplant and bell peppers to the pan, followed by the wine, hoisin sauce, ginger, and soy sauce. Cook, covered, over medium heat for 5 minutes, or until the eggplant is nearly tender. Lift the lid once or twice during that time to stir.
• Stir-fry, uncovered, for 5 minutes longer, or until the eggplant is just tender.
• Season to taste with soy sauce and spicy seasoning.
• Serve at once with hot cooked rice or noodles with either or both of the optional garnishes.

SPICED EGGPLANT-STUFFED PEPPERS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F. Prick both eggplants several times with a fork; place on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast 30 to 35 minutes or until soft all over when touched. Cool about 15 minutes or until easy to handle. Reduce oven temperature to 375°F.
• Meanwhile, drain liquid from canned tomatoes into bottom of a 3-qt. baking dish. Add minced garlic, 1½ teaspoons of the cumin, and ¼ teaspoon each of the paprika and coriander; mix well.
• Coarsely chop drained tomatoes; spread half of the tomatoes in baking dish. Place the remaining tomatoes in a medium bowl.
• Peel and coarsely chop eggplants. Add eggplants, chickpeas, onion, and chopped garlic to bowl with tomatoes. Stir in the remaining 1 teaspoon each cumin, paprika, and coriander.
• Cut off pepper tops and set aside; remove seeds and membranes. Spoon eggplant mixture into peppers. Place peppers in the baking dish.
• Bake 30 minutes. Place tops on peppers; bake 30 minutes more or until peppers are tender and tops start to brown. Serve warm or at room temperature with pan sauce on the side.

SPICED PEPPERS AND EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic, coriander, cumin, and saffron, if using; cook, stirring often, until garlic is softened, about 4 minutes. Add sweet peppers and eggplants; season with salt and pepper. Cook, tossing occasionally, until vegetables are tender, 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat and add vinegar. Just before serving, add basil and toss to combine.
• DO AHEAD: Vegetables can be cooked 4 days ahead. Cover; chill. Bring to room temperature before adding basil and serving.

STUFFED PEPPERS WITH EGGPLANT AND CHEESY RICE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
• Cut off the tops of each pepper. Pull out the ribs and seeds and discard. Discard the stems and dice the pepper tops. Set aside. Lightly trim the bottoms of each pepper so they can stand up.
• Stand the peppers up on a baking sheet or large skillet and drizzle with oil. Season with salt and pepper then roast until they begin to soften, 5 to 8 minutes.
• Heat the oil in a medium saucepot over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, jalapenos and onions and cook until the onions are translucent, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the diced pepper tops and eggplant and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables soften and begin to caramelize, about 3 minutes. Stir in the rice and mix to combine. Add the wine and cook until it is reduced by half, 2 to 3 minutes. Add 2 cups water and the crushed tomatoes and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until the rice is creamy and al dente, 10 to 12 minutes.
• Remove the saucepot from the heat and stir in the mascarpone and basil. Taste for seasoning, adding additional salt and pepper if needed.
• Reduce the oven temperature to 400 degrees F. Fill each pepper with the rice mixture, then stand them up on the same baking sheet or large skillet and top with the mozzarella. Bake until the cheese is melted and the peppers are cooked through, about 5 minutes. Serve topped with more torn basil and a drizzle of oil.

SPICY RED PEPPER & EGGPLANT CONFIT

Steps:

• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 400°F.
• Cut roasted peppers into 1-inch pieces.
• Toss together all ingredients in a large roasting pan, then spread evenly.
• Roast, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are very tender, about 1 hour. Cool before serving.
• Cooks' note:.
• Confit can be made 1 week ahead and chilled, covered. Bring to room temperature and stir before serving.
• **Cook time does not include letting the roasted peppers steam for 15 minutes, after broiling or allowing the confit to cool before serving.

STIR-FRIED EGGPLANT AND PEPPERS

Steps:

• Peel eggplant if desired; cut into fourths and remove seeds. Cut eggplant into 2x3/4x1/4-inch strips. Cover with cold water; let stand 30 minutes. Drain; pat dry with paper towels.
• Cut bell peppers into 1/4-inch strips. Cut mushrooms into 3/8-inch slices. Mix oyster sauce and sugar.
• Heat 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add vegetable oil; rotate skillet to coat side. Add eggplant, garlic and gingerroot; stir-fry 1 minute. Add bell peppers and mushrooms; stir-fry 2 minutes. Add oyster sauce mixture and sesame oil; cook and stir 1 minute. Serve with rice.

SPICY ROASTED RED PEPPER AND EGGPLANT SOUP

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425F/220°C.
• While the peppers and eggplant are roasting, chop your onions and fresh chili (if you are using a fresh chili). Throw away the seeds and pith of the chili, and remember to only use half. Set aside.
• Put the eggplant and the bell peppers on a baking tray. To prevent exploding, poke a few holes in the eggplant, and one small slit in each pepper, facing up (while the peppers cook, they will fill with juice, and you don't want it to leak out).
• Roast them in the oven for about 40 minutes, until the eggplant is soft. Allow to cool enough to touch.
• Carefully put the peppers in a bowl, saving as much juice as possible, and cut in half. Peel away and discard the skin, seeds and pith.
• Cut the eggplant in half, and use a spoon (a grapefruit spoon works amazing for this if you have one!) to scoop out the flesh into the bowl with the red pepper flesh.
• Put the olive oil in the soup pot on low heat, and add the onions. Cook until soft, but not browned.
• Add the hot chili or chili powder, and cook for few quick minutes.
• Add the eggplant, red peppers, thyme, and paprika, and stir.
• Add about three quarters of the stock (enough to cover the contents of the pot), and simmer for about 20 minutes.
• In a few batches, puree the soup in a blender until smooth (you need to use a second pot to keep the pureed and un-pureed soup separate).
• Add more stock to adjust the consistency if you need to.
• Add salt, black pepper, small amounts of oregano and coriander, and more of the other spices and thyme to taste. Add a small dash of lime juice as well.
• Serve hot with a spoonful or two of fresh cream on top, and a spoonful of chopped scallions.

EGGPLANT AND RED PEPPER BAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• Mix red bell pepper, onion, and garlic in a large mixing bowl; season with basil, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Drizzle olive oil and balsamic vinegar over the pepper mixture; toss to coat the vegetables evenly.
• Brush eggplant slices with olive oil to coat thinly.
• Spread about 1/3 of the pepper mixture into the bottom of a square glass baking dish; top with a layer of about 1/3 of the eggplant. Repeat layering twice more. Top final layer with mozzarella cheese.
• Bake in preheated oven until the cheese is browned and the vegetables are bubbling, 35 to 40 minutes.

SPICY RED-PEPPER AND EGGPLANT CONFIT

Steps:

• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 400°F.
• Cut peppers into 1-inch pieces. Toss together all ingredients in a large roasting pan, then spread evenly. Roast, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are very tender, about 1 hour. Cool before serving.