28 July 2010

en la cocina: mini tomato + eggplant pies.









There may be nothing tastier than a well-roasted tomato.
Except maybe a well-roasted tomato on a bed of eggplant and garlic, sprinkled with browned cheese...

Dinner's become quite a culinary challenge around here lately.
I feel like I've delved through all of my books, inspired no more by their crinkled pages.
The time has come to do some culinary creating of my own, I guess.
So Maple and I designed the perfect, rustic side dish a few nights ago. Well, perfect in our book at least. Perfectly easy. Perfectly tasty. I think I may be undermining it: it's rather amazing, if I must say.

Serves 4
prep time: 10 minutes
cook time: 25 minutes

You will need:

1 medium eggplant
1 large, vine-ripened tomato (heirloom is preferred, but in any respect vine-ripened is a must for flavor)
4 cloves garlic, smashed and minced, divided
3 Tbs olive oil
1/4 C shredded mozzarella
1/4 C shredded parmesan
sea salt + pepper to taste

preheat oven to 350.
slice the eggplant 1/2" thick.
arrange in a single layer on a baking dish, being careful not to overcrowd. i ended up dividing mine between two dishes.
brush with olive oil.
salt + pepper to taste.
sprinkle with 1/2 of the minced garlic.
roast for 10 minutes.

while eggplant is roasting, slice tomato 1/2" thick.
pull eggplant from oven and top each piece with a slice of tomato.
top with remaining minced garlic.
drizzle with remaining olive oil.
roast for 15 minutes, til tomato juices and bubbles slightly.

remove from oven.
sprinkle each "pie" with mozzarella and parmesan.
turn oven to broil.
broil for 3-4 minutes, til cheese begins to brown.

i served mine alongside a hearty, garlic-roasted chicken dish. recipe soon to follow.
accompanied perfectly by a crisp, green salad and asiago cheese bread.

enjoy :)

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