by Jetta Carleton (Kindle edition). The author died in 1999, but she left a legacy, beloved by many. The story of a rural small-town family in Missouri – the parents and their 4 daughters. A book that many readers think was a pivotal read in their lives, or one they re-read, even when they’re not people who re-read books. It’s a sweet story, although the family surely does have its share of troubles.
by Susan Richards (Kindle edition); 
by Sally Gunning (Kindle edition)
; 
; 
(Mario Batali & Gweneth Paltrow); 
; 
.
You’ll have to take a gander at these little baby globe-shaped eggplant (below) – they’re called Hindu, or Indian, or Indian Paint. They’re full grown, not really babies. Cute little buggers. Offered at the local farmer’s market last week, and I wanted to do something easy but fun with them.
I cut them in half (although you don’t have to) and baked them (drizzled with olive oil) at 375 for about 45 minutes, until the skins had begun to shrivel. But not enough that they’d dried out. I had ample ripe on-the-stem tomatoes, some red onion, green onion, fresh mint and parsley. Then I made a dressing with olive oil, lemon juice, sherry vinegar, salt, pepper and garlic. The recipe came from Chow.com. I’d never looked at the website before, but the recipe is credited to a restaurant called Nopa (in San Francisco). Chef Laurence Jossel. This could also be an appetizer, I think – the original recipe sounds more like one since you scoop it onto pita bread. So think of that as an option. I made it as a side dish with grilled lamb chops.
The salad, to be served at room temp, was easy. Just a bit of chopping and mincing involved. Be sure to include the wine vinegar – lemon juice isn’t enough to give this salad it’s bright flavor. The original recipe said just wine vinegar – I used sherry because I have some good stuff and like to use it in a salad such as this one when the flavor shines through. These small eggplant don’t need to be skinned – their skin is quite thin and quite edible.
Charred Eggplant Salad
Recipe: Nopa Restaurant (Chef Laurence Jossel)
Servings: 3
1 large eggplant
2 tablespoons red onion — minced
1/2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1-2 teaspoons kosher salt — or more to taste
1 medium tomatoes — diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons basil leaves — finely chopped
3 tablespoons mint leaves — finely chopped
1 small scallion — thinly sliced
1/2 tablespoon Italian parsley — finely chopped
1/2 medium garlic clove — minced to a paste
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1. Heat a charcoal or gas grill to medium-high heat (375°F). Add the whole eggplant and allow skin to char all over, turning every 5 minutes. After about 30 minutes, the eggplant will collapse. Remove to a colander and allow to cool. Alternately, bake eggplant at 375 for 45 minutes – 1 hour, until you’ll see the flesh is collapsing inside and the color has taken on a golden hue.
2. Combine red onion, kosher salt, and vinegar in a medium bowl. Allow to marinate at least 5 minutes.
3. Once the eggplant is cool, scoop flesh from charred skin and coarsely chop. Combine eggplant with marinated onions and remaining ingredients. Mix together gently and season well with additional salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
4. Serve at room temperature with grilled pita or baguette toasts
Per Serving: 140 Calories; 9g Fat (56.4% calories from fat); 2g Protein; 14g Carbohydrate; 5g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 952mg Sodium.
printer-friendly PDF recipe
A year ago: Asparagus (everything you ever wanted to know about)
Two years ago: Bacon & Tomato Dunk (oh yes, one of my fav’s)
0 Comments