I got to talking with my dad about Eggplant Barbeque, one of my grandfather’s favorites.  My dad made this often when we were growing up.  It’s made from a roasted then pureed eggplant.  My dad has called it Eggplant Barbeque for as long as I can remember.

I never knew it was one of his father’s favorite foods until now.  Certain foods remind me of a place, a trip, a special occasion…but I’ve never had a food associated with such a significant memory – that of a loved one who is no longer with me.  It makes me wonder what my dad thought of each time he made Eggplant Barbeque for us.  Was he thinking about his father?  If so, he never let on.

Baingan Bharta is a common dish in Indian restaurants, but this version is different because it uses South Indian flavors and spices rather than the North Indian spices found in the restaurant version.  The South Indian flavors – crunchy channa daal and urad daal, spicy sambar powder, slightly bitter mustard seeds and tangy tamarind juice – allow the velvety, nutty flavory of the eggplant to shine.

How to roast and prepare the eggplant:

Poke holes in the eggplant, rub with oil and roast at 450 degrees until blackened and deflated.

Use your hands to peel off the skin. It should come off relatively easily.

Cut the stalks off of the end of the skinned eggplants.  Be sure to cut close to the base so you don’t lose any precious eggplant.

Using a fork, mash the eggplant. Looks kind of gross I know.  But it is velvety, nutty goodness.

On Saturday, I declared I was giving up bread in an effort to shed my last “few” baby pounds. On Sunday, I bought a crusty Balthazar baguette which we devoured with mini wedges of brie. On Monday, I dove into a frozen sourdough pullman loaf from FreshDirect (how is frozen bread so good?). Tuesday is a blur but I’m sure there was bread. Then Wednesday, I went and bought a hazelnut raisin loaf from Almondine (Heavenly.  Though it’s not my fault I bought it.  The guy behind the counter asked if I wanted the last loaf and was incredulous when I hesitated…I guess they usually sell out fast) AND I made a Bread and Eggplant Lasagna.

Obviously, I’m not giving up bread. It’s okay though. The Bread and Eggplant Lasagna is worth it. And the hazelnut raisin bread…well, a slice in the morning with a pat of butter dulls the haze of sleeping in 2 hour increments. For the lasagna, I followed a recipe from VeganYumYum, and I didn’t make very many changes. You can find the recipe here. It’s a noodle-less lasagna (yes, as in no noodles) so perhaps it’s more accurately described as a casserole.  No matter what you call it, it’s layers of chewy bread soaked in a garlicky tomato marinara sauce, velvety eggplant with slightly charred skin and melty mozzarella cheese.  We didn’t even miss the noodles.

In case you’re interested, here are the changes that I made:

• Sauce – I sauteed green chili peppers and fresh basil with the garlic. As an afterthought, I added a few shakes of crushed red chili pepper flakes for added back heat.  Rajat pointed out that a little sprinkle of sugar might have been good to cut the tartness of the tomatoes.
• Eggplant – As you can see from the photos, I didn’t peel the eggplants. I happen to like the taste and texture of the skin. Also my mom has drilled into my head that many of the  nutrients are in the skin.
• Bread – I sprayed the bread slices with olive oil spray, showered them with salt and broiled for about 5 minutes. Pan frying is perhaps tastier, but I didn’t have time. I haven’t had it the other way, but broiling the bread turned out really well.  Also, I used a loaf of French Country Bread because I couldn’t get sourdough.
• Cheese – I de-veganized the lasagna by adding cheese.  Lasagna without noodles is good and well, but I need cheese.
• Cooking – At the end of baking the lasagna, I drizzled a little olive oil over the top and broiled it for a few minutes until the tomatoes looked wilted and the breadcrumbs were toasted.

One of the things I loved about this recipe is that it came together easily.  Once you prep the eggplant and get it into the oven, you’ve finished with the most time intensive part.  Yet, it looks incredibly elaborate.  I made this in 10-15 minute snippets that I stole between Surya’s 15 and 30 minute naps.  And the best part is that the leftovers reheat well.

I just got a review copy of Vegan Yum Yum: Decadent (But Doable) Animal-Free Recipes for Entertaining and Everyday, a cookbook by Lolo, the author behind VeganYumYum,.  After trying her Bread and Eggplant recipe, I’m excited to try out some recipes in the cookbook.  Check back for a review of the cookbook coming soon.

Bhaji is basically Indian tempura – vegetables battered in a spicy flour coating, deep fried and served piping hot straight out of the oil, slightly crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside.  In our house, bhaji was the late afternoon snack of particularly lazy Saturday afternoons following a nap.  Bhaji was the pre-dinner treat that my mom would have waiting when I came home for weekend visits from college.  Rainy day comforts.  Winter blues chasers.  Family get together indulgences.  Bhaji still reminds me of those times at home and manages to conjure warm feelings of comfort and goodness.  It seems silly to think that such a simple food could have such effect, no?

Battering the bhaji – no tails!

Deep frying the bhaji until golden

Last month, we had a chance to sample the eggplant parm at DiMare restaurant at the Four Seasons in Papayago, Costa Rica.  It was melt in your mouth delicious and curiously combined pesto sauce and two kinds of cheese.  With some persistent nagging and pleading, we got the chefs, Diego and Nicholas, to give us the recipe.  Unfortunately, it was lacking measurements for most ingredients and a little different from what we remembered eating in the restaurant.  Below is the DiMare recipe as we pieced it together.

Getting the Eggplant Ready:
1. Peel and then thinly slice the eggplant.  Spread the slices on a cookie sheet and sprinkle with sea salt.  Leave them for about an hour so the salt “sweats” out of the slices.  Afterwards, pat them dry with a paper towel.
2. Pour 1 cup of the flour onto the center of a plate.  Dredge each eggplant slice in the flour.
3. Heat oil in a deep skillet and fry each slice of eggplant until slightly golden.  After frying, place each slice on a plate covered in a paper towel to help soak up some excess oil.
 
Make the Napoli Sauce:
1. In a tall stockpot, saute the onions, 5 cloves of garlic, carrots and celery for about 20 minutes until the vegetables soften.
2. Add the tomatoes and cook until the tomatoes melt.
3. Let the mixture cool then puree in a blender.
4. Add back to the stockpot and cook on medium/medium low.  Add salt to taste and paprika for coloring. Update: DiMare’s recipe calls for cooking the sauce for 3 hours.  We didn’t have time for that and cooked it for about 20-30 minutes after blending.  It was still delicious but would benefit from a longer cooking time if you can spare the time.

 
Making the Pesto Sauce:
1. Place the basil leaves, 2 cloves of garlic and pine nuts in a food processor.  Drizzle ~ 1/2 cup olive oil in while the processor runs.  Add 2 tbsp parmesan cheese and run until you have a smooth sauce.
2. Add salt and black pepper to taste.
3. Place the pesto sauce in the fridge until ready to use. Chef Nicholas gave us a tip that you should always make the pesto close to when you’re ready to use it – otherwise it takes on a dark, black look rather than vibrant green.

 
Putting It All Together:
1. Preheat the oven to 350.  Cover the bottom of a large glass pan (mine is 10×13) with napoli sauce.  Stack eggplant slices two on two and cover the pan.
2. Cover the slices with another layer of napoli sauce.  Evenly cover with a layer of mozzarella cheese and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.  Evenly drizzle the pesto sauce in thin streaks.  This is optional, but we add a gentle shake of crushed pepper.
3. Repeat steps number 1 and 2 until you use all of the eggplant slices and end with step number 2 as the very top.
4. Bake for about 30 minutes until the cheese melts and gets slightly golden and bubbly.
5. Allow to slightly cool then slice and enjoy with crusty bread.

We had our eggplant parm with a side of garlicky broccoli rabe and cherry peppers.  The bitter, sharp bite of broccoli rabe with a spicy pop was the perfect side to cut the cheesy, richness of the eggplant parmesan.  Leftover eggplant parm is also delicious scooped into a crusty hoagie for an eggplant parm sub.

Put the peanuts in the food processor.  When they are powdered, add the garlic, ginger, onions and then tomatoes.  Add all of the masalas and pulse. When everything is fully pulsed and the sauce is smooth, transfer it to a saucepan (one that is not too shallow since the sauce has a tendency to bubble).  Add the tomato paste and mix it in well.  This gives the sauce a little tartness.  Chop the baingans (no need to remove the skin) into matchstick size pieces that are about 1/2 inch long.  Add to the sauce, cover and cook on medium-low heat.  Cook for about 20 minutes covered until the eggplant is cooked through and looks almost translucent.  Be sure to stir occasionally so the bottom doesn’t stick.