Eggplant Stew
1 to 1 1/2 lbs eggplant
1/4 plus 2 tablespoon olive oil, divided
1 Lg. red onion, diced into 1/2 inch squares
1 Lg. red or yellow pepper, cut into 1 inch triangles
2 teaspoon paprika
2 cloves garlic,thinly sliced
2 tablespoon tomato paste
5 plum tomatoes, peeled, quartered lengthwise and seeded.
1 15 oz. can of chickpeas, rinsed well
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup coarsely chopped parsley
Cut the eggplant lengthwise into 1/2 inch slabs, then into 1/2 inch sticks. brown 14 cup oil in a wide skillet over high heat until hazy. Add eggplant and stir to distribute oil. Cook, turning pieces every few minutes until golden (approx. 10 minutes).
Heat remaining oil in a Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add the onion, pepper, and paprika. Saute until the onion is lightly brown around edges (8-10). Add the garlic in the last few minutes. Stir in the tomato paste, fry for a few minutes, then moisten with a few tbs of wter to scrape the juices from the bottom of the pan. Add the tomatoes, eggplant, chickpeas, 1 cup water, 1 tsp salt, and pepper to taste. Lower heat, simmer covered for 20 minutes. Stir occasionally. Add parsley and serve over noodles or rice.
SO HOW'D IT GO?
Just made this. Amazing, very filling and savory :-D I added some curry to make it a little bit spicy.
wow... i seriously almost forgot how much i LOOOOVE eggplant until my husband bought me one and i made this recipe! it was in a bag and i forgot about it for over a week, so i only had about half to one-third of an eggplant left by the time i trimmed it up... but i just reduced the other ingredients accordingly.
i used red peppers (for the color contrast) and i think they are what truly pulled everything together and set this apart from your ordinary eggplant-tomato recipe. YUUUUM!
thank you so much for this recipe! i'm sure i'll be making it again soon. ;)b