I have a recipe from "The Victory Garden Cookbook" by Marian Morash from way back when. It's lovely.
3 3/4 lb eggplants
salt
6 medium onions
6 large ripe tomatoes
6 cloves garlic
1/2 cup olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4-1/2 cup parsley
Cut off the stemmed ends of eggplants. Peel off strips of skin about 1 inch wide lengthwise at 1-inch intervals. Halve the eggplants lengthwise. Slash the flesh diagonally (both ways) and sprinkle with salt. Place the halves on a platter with a heavy weight on top (ASIDE: I use a second plant and large bags of dried beans or rice) for at least 30 minutes. Slice the onions into rings (I do vertical slices into crescents). Peel, seed, and coarsely chop the tomatoes. Mince the garlic.
Heat 2 tablespoons of oil and saute the onions until soft and lightly browned, 5-10 minutes. Add the tomatoes, saute for 5-10 minutes longer, and set aside.
Squeeze the eggplants and dry on paper towel. Heat 4 tablespoons of oil and saute them, flesh side down until nicely browned. This will probably have to be done in two batches. Place in a pan that will hold all 6 halves snugly, or divide into two pans, flesh side up. Gently press the tomato-onion mixture over the eggplant, pressing into the slashes wherever possible. Sprinkle garlic over each one. Season with salt and pepper, drizzle with remaining oil, and pour in enough water to come about a third of the way up the sides of the eggplants. Bring water to a boil, cover, and simmer gently until the eggplants are tender. (Cooking time will vary on the size of the eggplants. Start checking after about 20 minutes.) Cool, sprinkle with parsley and serve cold.
NOTE: I usually saute the garlic with the onion-tomato mixture, don't add the drizzle of oil at the end, and serve either hot or cold - it is delicious either way.
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