Cooking Eggplant Stelios @ Shoprite!

I never imagined that I'd be doing a cooking class with the lovely Nicole Hallissey, the dietitian at Shoprite of Oakland. But, when I went to see her for my cholesterol problem(there I go again!) we ended up planning to cook Greek together.

I suggested my deliciously healthy Eggplant Stelios(guess who?) and she rounded up the meal with a yogurt based hummus and a Greek Salad.

Here's how it went:

Chop parsley, onion, garlic and eggplant. Saute onion, garlic, add parsley tomatoes and eggplant.(see full recipe below.)

Add a 32oz. can of tomatoes

Nicole's Greek salad. Yum!

Chickpeas, garlic, fat free Greek yogurt and a little olive oil!

Greek Hummus!

 

 

 It's not Greek until you pour on the olive oil!

 

The finished product. Yummy, eggplant, tomato stew! Trust me, you'll love it!
Think caponata, but better!

Three of our participants!

Nicole and I

 

Thank you, Nicole, I had a blast!

 

Eggplant Imam (Stelios’s recipe)
serves 4 as a main dish

2 lbs eggplant, cut into 1-inch cubes

2 large onions, minced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 cup of minced parsley

1 large can of crushed tomatoes

1 soupspoon of corn oil

¼ cup of olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Brown the onions and garlic in a thick-bottomed pot with the vegetable oil. Add the tomato puree, the olive oil, parsley, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and add the eggplant to the pot. Bring to a boil stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon (scrape the bottom of the pot with the spoon to prevent sticking and burning of the ingredients, especially if the bottom is not thick enough; avoid crushing the eggplant). Simmer until eggplant is soft (about 30 min). Let the pot stand for a while (in the fridge, if longer than a few hours) and reheat before serving.

Note: The dish gets better after a day or two. Eggplant is best served over rice or bulgur pilaf and plain yogurt.

 Enjoy!

 

Maria