Saturday, June 23, 2007

Grilled Eggplant Stacks

We just had this for lunch and I had to run and post the recipe here. This dish was extremely flavorful, really good, truly delicious!!!
I don't think I have enough words to express how much I loved this one! I already liked all the components by themselves (c' mom, grilled veggies are the best, aren't they?!!!), so there was no way we would not enjoy this one. Sooooo yummy!
It is not difficult to put together and it has just the right ingredients to make an awesome and delightful summer dish.
It takes a little prep time to prepare the ingredients and grill them, but that's all you need to do. The rest is assembling and enjoying!
The stars of this dish for me was first of all the herbbed goat cheese, and then the balsamic-wine syrupy reduction. The cheese made it taste even fresher and it was so delicious on its own, I measured the 2 ounces asked in the recipe and then threw a little more in there just so I could have a tad extra, and also because I love goat cheese and I wanted a good portion of it in my "stack"!
The balsamic reduction was amazingly good. So rich, so syrupy, it made me feel like I was a very good chef, really, it tasted "chic"!
This could be easily be served as part of a vegetarian meal, as I actually had mine with tofu and brown rice, while the boys opted for red meat.
Making dishes like this makes me happier than ever, and it makes me love cooking more and more; because I know it is really hard to find such tasty food around. It would certainly cost me a fortune and no one could ever guarantee it would be this fresh.
This is why I love cooking the most. Treating my family with healthy and delicious food and seeing their happy faces is much more than I could ever ask for!
Enjoy!
Ana


Grilled Eggplant Stacks
(From Cooking Light Magazine, July 2007)

1 (1-pound) eggplant, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup dry red wine
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 small zucchini (about 4 ounces)
1 small yellow squash (about 4 ounces)
1 large red bell pepper, quartered lengthwise and seeded
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup (2 ounces) goat cheese
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano

Place eggplant slices in a colander. Sprinkle evenly with 1/2 teaspoon salt; toss well. Let stand 10 minutes. Rinse slices thoroughly; dry with paper towels.
Combine vinegar, wine, and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer until reduced to 1/4 cup (about 8 minutes).
Prepare grill.
Trim ends from the zucchini and yellow squash; slice each lengthwise into 4 (1/4-inch-thick) slices. Flatten pepper pieces with hand. Brush eggplant, zucchini, squash, and pepper pieces with oil; sprinkle with remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and black pepper. Place pepper pieces, skin side down, eggplant, zucchini, and squash on a grill rack; grill 8 minutes or until tender, turning once.
Combine cheese, basil, and oregano.
To assemble stack, place 1 eggplant slice on a plate; top with one-fourth of cheese mixture. Lay one strip of yellow squash and one strip of zucchini side by side. Drizzle with 1 1/2 teaspoons balsamic mixture. Top with one pepper piece. Top with one eggplant slice and drizzle with 1 1/2 teaspoons balsamic mixture. Repeat procedure three times with remaining eggplant, cheese, squash, zucchini, peppers, and balsamic mixture. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

15 comments:

Cláudia said...

Ana, que delícia, eu adoro berinjela grelhada, e os seus temperos devem ter deixado tudo mais gostoso.
Bjs

Fer Guimaraes Rosa said...

essa vai pra minha lista, assim que as roxinhas coomecarem a chegar. beijoo, Ana!

Agdah said...

Engraçado que acabei de receber meu exemplar de Cooking Light e achei a receita interessantíssima. Que bom que você testou logo.

Kathleen said...

This looks super delicious! I love reductions, they bring such intense flavors, and such a nice gourmet touch. You are so right, the best food you can have is made at home with love.

Gourmandisebrasil said...

tjvmuHum! adoro berinjela, são tão versáteis...outro dia ouvi falar de uma torta (doce) de berinjela e chocolate. Fiz uma salada de berinjelas assadas outro dia. Dá uma olhadinha no meu blog:
http://gourmandisebrasil.blogspot.com/
Nina.

Camila L said...

No need to prove us with many words this tasted delicious! I tried grilled eggpant a few weeks ago on a barbecue grill and it was out of this world! We simply seasone the eggplant and yellow peppers with olive oil and salt and grilled them. The get even sweetier, juicy and tasty. The other day I wanted to buy some goat cheese but had no recipe in mind to use it. Now, thanks to you, I DO! Obrigada!

Eli said...

Berinjela grelhada é muito bom mesmo!! A foto da deixa a gente com vontade de correr pra cozinha. :)

Christine said...

I saw this in Cooking Light and it's good to know it really does taste as good as it looks.

Anonymous said...

Lindo prato, adorei sua empolgação! Sou assim também quando faço algo que dá certo e gosto!
Um beijo!

www.mangiachetefabene.wordpress.com

Camila L said...

Oi, Ana! passei aqui só pra dizer que fiz ontem essas beringelas e ficaram divinas!!!!! Porém as minhas nãi ficaram dignas de fotos porque na pressa cometi dois errinhos básiscos: fiz fatiei os legumes mais finos do que deveriam e por isso eles não ficaram tão macios (deram uma leve tostadinha, mas o sabor ficou muito bom mesmo assim). E fatiei no sentido do comprimento então o assembly não ficou nada bonito. Da próxima vez vou caprichar! Outra pergunta: vc usa grill elétrico? Eu usei o tradicional, com carvão, mas fiqui qondering se o elétrico daria o mesmo gostinho de grela de churrasco... Beijos!

Ana said...

Claudia, esse prato ficou muito bom, mal posso esperar para fazer de novo!

Fe, faca pois roxinhas grelhadas sao demais de deliciosas!!

Agdah, muito legal conhecer mais alguem que tbem eh fa da CL!! Eu adoooro a revista! Pode fazer essa receita que eh show!

Kathleen, I loved the reduction onE this one, it was really tasty! I think you would like this dish a lot too!
Nina, berinjela grelhada/assada eh muito bom mesmo, ne!! Vou la te visitar tbem!

Camila, this will make a great use of your goat cheese, try it!!

Eliana, que bom te ver por aqui! Sabe q eu nao tava muito fa da foto q tirei nao, mas o prato tava tao gostoso que eu tinha que postar! hehe!!

Verena, obrigada! Muito joia seu blog tbem, fui la espiar!!

Camila, que legal que voce fez e gostou, fiquei muito feliz!! Tenho certeza q a sua ficou boa tbem, e nao se preocupe com o "look" da coisa, o importante eh o sabor!
Eu p/ ser sincera nao tinha gostado la muito da minha foto, mas a receita era tao gostosa q eu tinha que vir aqui dividir com voces!
Eu uso a grelha a gas, churrasqueira la no quintal, sabe?! Bem americanona! hehe!
Eu acredito que a churrasqueira com carvao natural eh muuuuuuito melhor e deixa um sabor muuuuuito superior na comida do que a a gas, mas nos temos essa e funciona bem, quebra um galhao nos meses de calor! hehe!
Beijos!
Ana

Gourmandisebrasil said...

Oi Ana,
Acho que a melhor tradução para inglês é buckwheat, mas não tenho certeza. Sei que em francês é farine blé noir.
A sua receita de frfiands usa farinha de amêndoas? Exitem outros tipos de friands, mas a "Friand aux amandes" tem a receita muito próxima do finacier. Dá uma olhadinha no: http://www.linternaute.com/femmes/cuisine/
Tem uma ótima receita de finacier.
bjo,
Nina.

Elvira said...

Estão 3 beringelas na minha geladeira e não sabia muito bem como iria prepará-las. Agora já sei! :-)

Que receita deliciosa, querida Ana!

Steena said...

mmm.. I will be making some eggplant tonight.. these look so refreshing and tasty... Now if only I could leave work early! :)

-Christina

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