They're so tiny that you "aww" them in the grocery aisle. They're perfectly smooth, without a single blemish or bruise, like purple eggs laid by a magic goose. You can't resist and you take home three pounds of them.
Once you're back home, you discover that your fridge is as barren as an arctic tundra, pale as the full moon, and empty as the UChicago campus after 9pm. After wasting several minutes on absurd analogies for the emptiness of your fridge, you realize that you have three pounds of beautiful little eggplants and nothing to do with them. In desperation, you turn to your pantry, which contains:
-A package of round spring-roll skins that's been there for 2 years
-Approximately forty vietnamese egg noodle nests that someone gave you when they moved
-500 varieties of tea, 60% of which are flavors of chai
-Every baking ingredient in the world except flour
-A bottle of expired vitamins
-Rice, bulgur wheat, lentils, brewer's yeast, and a jar of Textured Vegetable Protein that's been there so long it's starting to smell like feet
-A can of tomato paste
But don't despair! Even with these limited ingredients, you can make THIS:
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| Roasted baby eggplants topped/stuffed with tomato bulgur. |
This dish is similar to other forms of stuffed/topped eggplant, such as Imam Baldi and lentil-stuffed eggplant. Only this time, the topping is made with ingredients you probably already have around. You could substitute rice, couscous, or other grains from your pantry.
Ingredients
Baby eggplants (as many as you want)
Olive oil
1 onion, chopped
ca. 1 cup bulgur wheat
1 small can tomato paste
A couple spoonfuls of water or broth
2 cloves garlic, crushed
Paprika
A squeeze of lime or lemon juice
Salt and pepper
Chopped parsley or cilantro to garnish
Cut the baby eggplants in half, coat them liberally in olive oil, and roast them in the oven, turning them over about halfway through the cooking time. (Temperature may vary, but 350 degrees F is a good starting point. This will take ca. 20-25 minutes.)
While the eggplants are baking, prepare the topping. In my experience, there are two kinds of bulgur wheat: the tiny grains used in tabbouleh, and the large-grained variety. The small grains can be re-hydrated merely by pouring boiling water over them, letting them sit for several minutes, then draining excess water. I used the larger grains, which have a nice chewy consistency. These take longer to cook and I've found that it's better to boil them in salt water, then drain and use.
While rehydrating/boiling the bulgur wheat, fry the chopped onion in olive oil. Add tomato paste, garlic, and paprika and stir for 1-2 minutes until tomato paste has turned a slightly darker shade. Add bulgur wheat and a dash of water or broth, stir and simmer for several minutes. Remove from heat, add squeeze of lemon/lime juice, and salt/pepper to taste.
When eggplants are done baking, top with bulgur. You can either pop these back into the oven for a few minutes, or you can eat them right away. Sprinkle with chopped parsley before serving.
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| Hurrah for improvisation! |
