Monday, August 31, 2009

eggplant wonders

Out at the garden I have about four eggplant plants. They remained on the small side for quite awhile. The cool summer we have had hasn't been all that great for eggplants. See eggplants thrive in hot weather-so really I wasn't expecting much in the way of eggplants, but to my pleasant surprise I found one-growing~

I can't wait to bring this pretty purple globe home for good eats. So seeing this eggplant got me thinking about Libby (she has this wonderful blog), because a couple a weeks ago she asked if I had any eggplant recipes. I have one recipe in particular that is great for the upcoming cooler weather of fall. A simple but really satisfying recipe, we often serve it over rice.

Eggplant Stew
2-3 tablespoons of olive oil
3-4 baby sized eggplants (or two medium sized eggplants)cut up into good sized chunks
3 cloves of garlic minced
1 bell pepper (seeds removed, chopped)
1 medium onion chopped
1 very large sweet potato
2 medium sized tomatoes chopped
1 can of stewed tomatoes (Mexican style)
2 cups of chicken (or veggie) stock
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste

First peel and chop the sweet potato into good sized pieces. Boil the sweet potato chunks until slightly tender, not to soft, set aside. In main pot with oil, place chopped up onion, peppers, and garlic-saute until translucent. Now add eggplant, sweet potato and chopped tomatoes cook all together for about five minutes. Add canned stewed tomatoes, bay leaf, and stock, let stew simmer for about 35 minutes-to thicken stew allow to simmer without top on the pot. Taste stew, add salt and pepper accordingly.
Serve over rice if desired.


(photo of the stew made last fall, as you can tell I like taking food pictures :)
Last year we ate a lot of this stew, and thanks to my little eggplant that's now growing we will be able to make another pot.
Enjoy!

3 comments:

  1. Oooh, thank you Nichole! This stew looks amazing. I'm going to keep checking in on you especially as the fall/winter progresses. I can feel nice, hearty meals coming on. :-)

    *and, I have everything to make this stew now, except for the sweet potato, but that's an easy fix. Thanks again for the recipe.

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  2. yum, love love eggplant!
    thanks for the recipe : )

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  3. This looks delicious! I will definitely try it. Thanks, honey!

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