Eggplant Stew - with a Mexican twist

[fifi]

Eggplant Stew - with a Mexican twist

Serves 4 as Sideor 2 as Main Dish.

One day I had an excess of eggplant. I had at least the equivalent of one big one left over after putting together the eggplant gratin dish. Now what? I had all of the ingredients in the house to do something different. In the small heavy pot (2 ½ quart Le Creuset) I layered in chunks of eggplant, rough chopped onion, roasted peppers and seasonings. I know that eggplant isn’t necessarily an ingredient that reminds us of Mexican cuisine. But, what the heck. Actually, the final dish does not taste strongly of eggplant. The other flavors overwhelm it. I see it as a good way to use it up or maybe sneak eggplant into the diet of those that aren’t crazy about it. (Hmmm . . . I wonder if this would work with zucchini?) As is common with my recipes, this is a casual affair and the quantities and ingredients are flexible. Do what you like.

For more eggplant discussion, please visit Eggplant in the Cooking forum.

• 1 large eggplant cut into about 1 inch chunks
  
• 1 medium white or yellow onion roughly chopped
  
• 1 tsp kosher salt
  
• 2 tsp dried Mexican oregano
  
• 2 T dried cumin seeds
  
• 1 tsp garlic powder
  
• 1 large red bell pepper, roasted, peeled and rough chopped
  
• 1 4 ounce can of chopped green chiles
  
• 1 c picante sauce, your favorite brand
  

In a small Dutch oven or other heavy lidded pot, layer the eggplant and onion. Add the salt, oregano, cumin seeds and garlic powder, distributing evenly over the vegetables.

Continue layering, adding red bell pepper the green chiles and picante sauce.

Cover and cook in a 325 degree F oven for about 1 ½ hours. You will want to check after an hour. Eggplants will differ as to water content. If yours are high in water content, you might consider taking the lid off for the last half hour. The picture above is intentionally taken to show that there isn’t a lot of loose liquid running around. You want a concentration of flavors, not soup.

Tips and Notes:

Crush the dried oregano between your fingers while sprinkling. This releases more flavor.

Using whole cumin seeds is a trick I learned from Huevos del Toro’s "Work in Progress Chili." In a long simmered dish they get really tender and offer a pleasant burst of cumin in the mouth. You can substitute ground cumin.

For a quick and easy technique for roasting the bell pepper, cut it into strips so that it will lay flat, skin side up, on a baking sheet. Run under the broiler until the skin is charred. Then proceed to sweat and peel off the skins.

Serving suggestions:

Sprinkle with a fresh Mexican cheese and serve with cornbread or warm corn tortillas. Chorizo on the side is a good meat addition if you like. This would also be a good base to use up leftover pork or chicken.

Alternate cooking methods:

You can vary the temperature, usually lower, to vary the cooking time. This is handy for putting it in the oven and going shopping.

This recipe would lend itself to a crock pot.

I also intend to try this in a clay pot.

Keywords: Main Dish, Side, Vegetarian, Easy, Vegetables, Lunch, Dinner, Tex-Mex

( RG1177 )