Saturday, November 13, 2010

Baked Eggplant with Roasted Potatoes #3



Just when you thought I had enough potatoes...here comes more!...OK, enough of the potato "show"...or not! This dish is so classic, so easy, and the potatoes have of course, my Indian inspired spices, along with my Hungarian paprika. Simple spicy Italian dressing, right from the bottle is what I used for marinating the eggplant slices for about an hour, and just patting a thick layer of Panko crumbs on it, and bake it very nicely along with the vegetables for almost an hour, until it gets nicely brown and crispy...oh my, what a treat...tastes so rich, it's so yummy, and satisfying, if you have any leftover, the next day you can just make a sandwich with the eggplant, and eat it cold. It's that good!

Baked Eggplant with Roasted Potatoes

1 large eggplant
2-4 large baking potatoes
2 whole garlic
1 onion
1/2 cup spicy Italian dressing
or (oil, and vinegar+spices)
3Tbsp vegetable oil
cooking spray
1/2 cup plain water
a mixture of Indian inspired spices+
Hungarian hot, or sweet Paprika


Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Slice eggplant into 1/2 inch slices.( you need it a little thick, so it can have a good bite and flavor to it.). Soak the eggplant slices in salty water for about 20 minutes. Cut potatoes into quarter wedges, and set aside in a bowl of water. Cut the onion into quarters, cut the tops of the garlic off.
In order to get the spices coating the potatoes, just put the potatoes in a large Ziploc baggie, and put the spices directly in there, give it a good shake, and it's done. Do the same thing with the eggplant and the dressing.

 Put the eggplant with the dressing in a large Ziploc baggie, let it marinade for at least 30 minutes than just dip them in Panko, or course breadcrumbs on a platter, adding more marinade as needed, because, you have to pat them on with your hands, to make sure it's adhered. Layer everything, in a single layer on an aluminum lined large baking pan, pour the oil right under the vegetables, along, with starting out with 1/4 cup of water, adding the rest after about 30 minutes. (For the garlic, drizzle extra right on top)
Spray all the veggies, and eggplant with Pam, or other cooking spray, to prevent dryness, and to assure nice even baking. Bake for about 45 minutes, adding the 1/4 cup of the reserved water, to assure even baking.
That's really how you make crispy oven baked vegetables, especially eggplant. Serves 4.

note: Hungarian Paprika source-BENDE

Truly, the best imported Hungarian Paprika, you can find. I have ordered from them for the last 10 years, they ship promptly, and surprisingly the shipping charge is very minimal. Always satisfied, with the best products, and beautifully packaged, and generous amount for a very fair price...can't get these products in a store, elsewhere, because everything is either made on their premises, or imported.
Just when you thought I had enough potatoes...here comes more! This one is Italian spices inspired. Same roasting method! OK...so maybe I'm Irish, and don't even know it. Actually, not!
Just a blend of "Heinz 57, as they say"...a nice mixture of Mediterranean, and Eastern European!...yes, that's my heritage,my dear friends.
 
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18 comments:

Debbie B. said...

This looks fabulous!! My mom used to grow and make some killer eggplant parmeson and bread and fry each eggplant on the stove! This sounds so much easier to pop it in the oven and it looks so good with the potatoes. Love it!

Mrs K said...

Hey Elizabeth,I can totally bet on how satisfying and yummy these eggplants and roasted potatos are...mmm..mmm also thanks for mentioning the source for Hungarian paprika. Oh yes-you just won an award from me:) it is on my blog so pl come & collect it.

jane deere said...

This looks delish! I grew eggplant last summer and had it coming out my ears! I love the leftover eggplant sandwich idea.

Angellove's Cooking said...

WOW!!! Looks delicious

aipi said...

This will fly like hot cakes in my house..we have some true potato n eggplant lovers:)
Thanks for mentioning the source for Hungarian paprika..will look for it..
Have a great weekend!

US Masala

My Kitchen in the Rockies said...

I would like this for dinner tonight. It looks very tasty!

Chef Dennis said...

hi Elisabeth
now that is one delicious plate of vegetables! Panko bread crumbs were such a good choice for the eggplant, I love breaded eggplant! But what really got my attention was the bulb of garlic....yumm....give me some crusty bread to spread it on!!
Thanks for such a tasty post!!
Dennis

Kay Heritage said...

Whoa,what a beautiful dish! Love the eggplants and panko combo,Elisabeth.

Monet said...

I will always take more potatoes :-) We love them, especially now that it is cooler out, and we can turn our oven on with no fear of too much heat! Thank you for sharing. I hope your weekend is going well!

Jaime said...

Yum, looks so good! I am also a potato lover! Goin to try this recipe.

Alexandria said...

wow! Roasted garlic makes my heart melt. Spread on bread like it is butter. I am not a vampire's friend! lol! This looks amazing. Eggplant has always intimidated me since a disaster eggplant parmesan I attempted when I was 17. I will have to try this recipe though. Yum yum!! :)

Shari said...

Hi Elisabeth, I really enjoyed this eggplant post! Are you able to tell me a little bit more about panko crumbs? I am unfamiliar of this, is it a brand? As we don't have it in Australia and I would like to know how to replicate it? Thanks a million :o)

Peggy said...

This looks fabulous! I would clean this plate off in an instant!

Paula said...

what a great blog!
here is so many inspirations,

have a nice time,
Paula

Magic of Spice said...

Hey Elisabeth, sorry I lost my internet connections in the midst of reading this post...
I wanted to mention that I absolutely love the use of whole garlic here and I thought I was the only person who ate leftover breaded eggplant cold, lol
Everything looks amazingly good :)

Karen said...

This seems like a wonderful way to eat eggplant. I don't have a lot of experience cooking or eating it, and I definitely need to try. The whole plate looks yummy, especially with that roasted garlic! Yum!

HGourmet Foodie said...

This Egg Plant recipe looks lovely. I just love the spices you use...

Nicki Woo said...

Oh my lord. I want that NOW. Really past now. Like two minutes ago. I looks perfect. It's like an answered prayer.