If you’re looking for yet another way to cook eggplant in an especially delicious way, you’ve come to the right page. Or, if you’re the way I used to be, you may be that mother planning a dinner for the tattooed guy chasing after your daughter, hoping to discourage him. (“Oh, Thomas, shall I call you Tom? Well, Jenffer just loves my eggplant dish, and you know, Tom, I’ve taught her how to make it and she usually helps, but this time she couldn’t. I hope you like it.”) If you’re in the latter situation, sorry. This dish is surprisingly good. Even though it is meatless, it tastes as if it has hamburger in it. It has just the right amount of chewiness, too. (As you probably know, some veggies when cooked turn to mushy glop that lacks chewing satisfaction.)
Oh, and I’ve been informed that this dish is really healthy for you. But make it anyway, because it tastes good. The quantities listed here make enough Eggplant Robaire to serve four as a side dish, and perhaps three or four as a main dish (especially with company, since you’re going to serve pie and ice cream for dessert, anyway).
Preparation time is about 10 to 20 minutes, depending on whether you use a food processor or cut up the ingredients by hand. Cooking time is another 10 to 20 minutes, depending on how much liquid you start with (the ingredients can be a bit watery). All in all, this qualifies for a 30-minute meal, especially if you take the speed tip discussed below.
Ingredients
- One half a large eggplant (about a pound)
- 3 eggs
- 2 Roma tomatoes
- 4 ounces cheddar cheese
- 1/2 can of pitted black olives
- 1 teaspoon of garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon of onion powder
- salt and pepper
- olive oil
Preparation
Wash the eggplant and tomatoes. The eggplant, tomatoes, cheese, and olives need to be chopped into small pieces about one eighth of an inch on a side. The garlic should be chopped very fine. If you use a food processor, chop up the items separately, especially the cheese, since its density and hardness requires its own chopping. For all chopped ingrediencts, if you do use a food processor, use the pulse mode and chop carefully so that you don’t chop too finely. Drain the olives so that little liquid is included.
After the vegetables and olives have been chopped appropriately, put the three eggs into the food processor and give them a zip or two to homogenize and liquify them.
In a mixing bowl, combine the vegetables and seasonings, and pour the egg mixture over the top. Stir thoroughly.
Cooking
Pour a drizzle or so of olive oil into a frying pan and turn on the heat. Pour the eggplant mixture into the pan. Cook uncovered, stirring occasionally. Cook until the liquid has cooked away and the egg is cooked completely. Approximate time is ten minutes.
Place in a dish, serve, and enjoy.
Variations
What will make this dish extra yummy is the addition of pickled artichoke hearts. Yes, I know I recommend these in other recipes, but I do so because they add that special zing–that tangy zip–that makes your taste buds stand up and sing.
Tips for the Inexperienced or Hurried
If you are really in a hurry, put all the ingredients in the food processor together, with the understanding that you’ll be using shredded cheese from the grocery store. If you don’t want to chop fresh garlic, you can get it in a jar already chopped up. Or if you really must, you can use garlic powder along with the onion powder. Theoretically, you could use a microwave oven, although this has not been tested.
Serve With
This is a chameleon dish: It can be served as either a main dish or a side dish. As you can see in the photo, as a main dish you can accompany it with tomatoes (for the glutamate, that added natural flavor enhancer found in tomatoes) and string beans, carrots, or even mashed potatoes.