Roasted Eggplant with Feta and Beef

 This simple recipe makes 2 servings, and incorporates these cool long and skinny eggplants that are popular to grown down in the South.  Our very nice neighbor gave some to us, and this was a great way to use them up before they went pruny.  Eggplant + feta, how can you go wrong, right?  Right!  Especially when you add to the team my standing favorites...garlic and onion.

Ingredients:

4 garlic cloves, med-large, chopped

1 medium onion, coarsely chopped

4 long eggplants, sliced in half, then in 1-2 inch pieces

1/2 pound ground beef

2 cups loose fresh spinach, long stems removed

4-5 oz. crumbled feta

10-12 small caper berries

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

salt for sweating (sea salt preferred)

olive oil for sauteing, approximately 1 ½-2 T

margarine for greasing

Do:

• Grease a 9 x 9 glass pan bottom and 1” up sides
• Sweat eggplant by sprinkling salt on cut side, let sit while sauteing onion and garlic, then mop with paper towel to absorb excess liquid
• Sauté onions at low heat just until they begin to break down and become limp, before browning
• Sauté garlic until softened, set aside with the onion



Almost wilted

• The olive oil will now have been mostly used up, add the eggplant in sections, placing the cut side face down on the skillet for about 2 minutes on low heat, flip and cook for another 2 minutes.  *Watch the coloring on the skin, it should be changed about 1/2 way up the sides with the meat getting tender but not mushy.  Set aside.
• Brown the ground beef at med-high heat, drain excess fat, lower heat
• Add to the beef the capers, lay the spinach leaves on top, and add the black pepper, turning with a spatula just until the spinach leaves start to wilt and are evenly dispersed

Assemble:

In the greased pan, place the eggplant, cut side up

Evenly distribute the onion/garlic mixture over this

Then add the beef/spinach/caper mixture

Top with the crumbled feta

Eggplant, face up

Add onion/garlic

Assembly complete

Cook:

Bake covered at 350 degrees for 20 minutes

Remove cover and broil on high for 3-4 minutes, just until the feta begins to brown

Serve in bowls (will become tossed when you dish, this adds to appearance), with herbed orzo on the side.

The feta was the key ingredient here, it brought the necessary flavor to tie this together and make it quite good.  A regular, fat eggplant could be used as well, and the capers are optional, but add a nice salty bite.  Try it, change it, improve it!  Just let me know…

Fig-A-Licious: Bacon wrapped figs stuffed with feta

Fig Time

It’s that time of the year, when the poor mangled tree in the far portion of the back yard is putting forth its very best effort, and offering some very excellent figs.  Never before had I tasted a perfectly ripened fig right off of the tree, what a treat for the taste buds!  Although, I feel that way about most things that are home grown and ripe-harvested (that they are best), it’s just not practical for everyone or everything, but I certainly feel lucky that I can pluck these beauties.

This dinner has double the fig, so count on double the fun, right?

The first recipe is very simple, take ripe figs, slice in half, gently stuff each side with a small chunk of feta, and wrap with one half slice of bacon (about 4-5 inches long).   

Skewer with a toothpick or bamboo skewer.  

 

Broil for 5 minutes, switch to a middle rack, and bake at 400 degrees for 8 minutes and voile la! 

A very simple recipe, but it delivers outstanding and big flavor results.  The blend of salty from the bacon and sweet from the fig, with the creamy melted feta earns this treat a place on the “make to impress” menu.  This is a great appetizer, but tonight I decided use them on a simple spinach salad.

The dressing for the salad also contained figs and was very easy and quick to make.

1 ¼ C whole figs, not dried

3 T. olive oil

3T balsamic vinegar

¼ C water

1 garlic clove

ground pepper to taste, about 1/4 tsp. or so

First, chop the garlic clove and sauté lightly in a bit of the oil, then add with the other ingredients to the food processor and process until smooth.

Then I chose to cook, using the same pan from the garlic, for about 10 minutes at a simmer, to smooth out the edges of the vinegar.

Cool and refrigerate.

I was not as impressed with this dressing, it was too subtle, but recommend the addition of honey and maybe another small clove of garlic.

Try the stuffed figs!  You won't be disappointed!