Red Wine Braised Eggplant with Yogurt and Herb Tomatoes
Market Black Box: Surplus of eggplant.
What I did with it: Braised with red wine, and served them with yogurt and herb tomatoes.
Eggplant and tomatoes. I love cooking with both, and they pair up nicely. If you do a quick search in a search engine for ‘eggplant and tomatoes’, you’ll get all kinds of recipes – from bruschetta appetizers to dinner casseroles.
This simple braised eggplant dish is topped with yogurt and tomatoes for an easy meatless meal, but it goes equally well with grilled meats. Leftovers are great when used to stuff pita pocket sandwiches.
Red Wine Braised Eggplant with Yogurt Herb Tomatoes
Ingredients
- 1 medium eggplant diced, see recipe
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 1 cup sliced bell peppers use green, or a mixture of red, yellow and green
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon dried Italian blend mixed herbs
- 1/2 cup dry red wine
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground black pepper or cracked black pepper
For the Yogurt Herb Tomatoes
- 3 Roma tomatoes
- 1/2 cup plain low fat yogurt
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
Instructions
- Cut the eggplant into cubes about 3/4-inch in size. Leave the skins on for the recipe. If desired, they may be removed.
- Heat the olive oil in a rondeau or large saucepan with a lid (Dutch oven can also be used) over medium heat.
- Add in the diced eggplant, yellow onion, and sliced bell peppers. Stir to combine, and cover the pan with a lid. Continue to cook for about 15 minutes over medium heat, stirring every 5 minutes or so, replacing lid after each stirring.
- Sprinkle in the dried basil and Italian herb mixture. Drizzle over the red wine and stir to combine. Continue to cook the vegetable mixture for another 10 minutes, covered, stirring frequently.
- When the vegetables have been cooked down and the eggplant is tender, add in the chopped parsley, salt, and black pepper. Stir, taste, and add in additional seasoning if necessary. For low-salt diets, omit salt all together.
- To serve on its own as pictured above, place in a pastry ring (or use a large, tall round cookie cutter) in the middle of a dinner plate. Using a spoon, take the eggplant and place the vegetables inside the pastry ring until the serving size has been met. Carefully remove the pastry ring and a perfectly round portion will be left. It may help to lift slowly while pressing the edges of the eggplant to keep it in place. Spoon some of the Yogurt Herb Tomatoes over the top and serve.
For the Yogurt Herb Tomatoes
- Core the tomatoes, and cut them into a small, even dice.
- Transfer to a mixing bowl, and add in the plain low-fat yogurt and fresh herbs.
- Stir to combine, and serve with braised recipe above.