Best Eggplant Bread Recipes

GOAT CHEESE WITH GRILLED EGGPLANT AND ROASTED PEPPERS ON OLIVE BREAD

Steps:

• 1. Spread goat cheese on one side of bread.
• 2. Place eggplant and pepper on the other piece of bread.
• 3. Close sandwich.
• 4. Spread evenly 1/2 teaspoon of butter onto each slice of bread.
• 5. Grill over moderate heat for approximately 3-4 minutes.
• *To grill eggplant:
• Slice thinly, brush with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste, and grill or broil for 4-5 minutes.
• **To roast peppers (also available in jars):
• Hold peppers over a flame until blackened, place peppers in a paper bag, peel and discard skins when cooled.

EGGPLANT AND TOMATO PANZANELLA: BREAD SALAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
• Toss bread cubes with garlic, olive oil, butter, and salt and pepper. Cook in preheated oven for ten minutes or until lightly brown and crispy. set aside to cool slightly.
• Toss eggplant with olive oil, melted butter, and salt and pepper to taste.
• Roast in preheated oven for 20 minutes or until tender and golden brown.
• To make viniagrette: combine balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, and olive oil.
• To prepare salad: combine tomatoes, eggplant, bread, and mozzarella. Toss with vinaigrette and garnish with herbs.

ROASTED EGGPLANT AND PEPPER SALAD WITH PITA BREAD AND SESAME SPREAD

Steps:

• To make the salad:
• Position rack in top third of oven and preheat to 450°F. Spray large heavy baking sheet with nonstick vegetable oil spray. Combine eggplant, peppers, garlic and oil in large bowl. Toss well. Transfer to prepared sheet. Bake until eggplant is brown and vegetables are tender, stirring every 10 minutes, about 50 minutes. Remove garlic and reserve. Scrape vegetables and all pan juices into bowl.
• Combine vinegar, cumin, salt, pepper and cayenne in processor. Peel roasted garlic; add to processor. Puree until smooth. Toss vegetable mixture with 1/4 cup garlic dressing. Cool, tossing occasionally. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill vegetables and remaining dressing separately. Bring to room temperature.)
• Mound salad in center of large platter. Surround with pita wedges. Serve, passing remaining dressing and Sesame Spread separately.
• To make the sesame spread:
• Beat margarine, sesame seeds and salt to blend in small bowl. (Can be prepared 2 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before serving.)

CRISP TOMATO, ZUCCHINI AND EGGPLANT BREAD GRATIN

Steps:

• 1. Preheat the oven to 400°. In a colander, toss the eggplant and zucchini with 1 teaspoon of kosher salt and let stand for 20 minutes. Drain well and gently squeeze out any excess liquid. 2. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, stir the olive oil with the garlic. Coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with 1 1/2 teaspoons of the garlic-infused oil. Tear the bread into 2-inch pieces and line the bottom of the baking dish with bread, fitting the pieces tightly together. Drizzle the bread with 2 tablespoons of the garlic oil and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the bread with half of the basil. 3. In a medium bowl, toss the eggplant and zucchini with 2 tablespoons of the garlic oil and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the tomato slices with salt and pepper. Arrange the eggplant, zucchini and tomatoes over the bread, overlapping them if necessary. Sprinkle with the thyme leaves, salt and pepper and drizzle with the remaining garlic oil. 4. Bake the gratin for about 40 minutes, until the vegetables begin to brown and the bottom of the bread is golden brown. Remove the vegetable gratin from the oven and let stand until cooled slightly, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with the remaining basil, cut into pieces and serve. MAKE AHEAD The gratin can be baked up to 2 hours in advance. Reheat in a 350° oven or serve at room temperature.

ROASTED EGGPLANT AND OLIVE SPREAD WITH PITA BREAD CHIPS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 475°F. Pierce eggplants with fork. Place on baking sheet. Roast until skins are blackened and eggplants are soft, turning occasionally, about 1 hour. Cut eggplants in half. Spoon flesh into strainer set over bowl; drain 15 minutes. Maintain oven temperature.
• Meanwhile, brush pita rounds lightly with oil. Sprinkle pita rounds with salt and pepper. Cut each pita round into 6 wedges. Arrange wedges on clean baking sheet. Bake until crisp, about 4 minutes; cool.
• Transfer drained eggplant to medium bowl. Mix in olives, garlic, vinegar, cumin and 1 tablespoon oil. Season spread with salt and pepper. Mound in small bowl. Serve with chips.

TOMATO & EGGPLANT FOCACCIA BREAD

Steps:

• To prepare dough, dissolve yeast in warm water in a large bowl. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Add 3 1/2 cups of flour, 3 tablespoons basil, 1 tablespoon oil, and 1 teaspoon salt; stir just until moist.
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 10 minutes); add enough of remaining flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to prevent dough from sticking to hands.
• Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85 degrees), free from drafts, 1 hour or until doubled in size.
• Punch dough down; cover and let rest 5 minutes. Divide dough in half. Working with 1 portion at a time (cover remaining dough to keep from drying), roll each half into a 10-inch circle on a pizza pan or baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Cover and let rise 30 minutes or until doubled in size.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
• To prepare tapenade, heat 1 tablespoon oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Add garlic; cook 30 seconds. Add eggplant; cook 8 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Place eggplant mixture in a food processor. Add 1 tablespoon oil, 2 tablespoons basil, and next 4 ingredients basil through olives); pulse 1 minute, scraping sides of bowl once.
• Uncover dough. Spread 1/4 cup tapenade over each focaccia. Arrange tomatoes evenly over tapenade. Spread remaining tapenade over tomatoes. Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

EGGPLANT & FETA FLAT BREAD PIZZA

Steps:

• Heat grill to medium high heat and heat oven to 400 degrees.
• Combine eggplant, 1/2 cup oil, cumin seeds and salt in a large bowl and toss to combine.
• Grill eggplant until just cooked through - about 8 minutes. Remove from grill and set aside.
• Brush both sides of flat bread with remaining oil. Grill flat bread for five minutes.
• Turn the bread over, top with eggplant, olives, cheese and pepper and grill for 5 more minutes. Transfer pizzas to baking pan, bake for approximately 8 minutes and serve immediately.

GRILLED BREAD WITH EGGPLANT & BASIL

Steps:

• Heat 4 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic, marjoram, and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring often, until garlic is softened but not browned, about 2 minutes.
• Add eggplant to skillet and cook, tossing occasionally, until just starting to brown, 8-10 minutes. Add 1/2 cup water; season with salt and pepper. Cook, tossing occasionally, until eggplant is very soft, 10-15 minutes. Let cool slightly; mix in lemon juice. Season with salt, pepper, and more lemon juice, if desired.
• Meanwhile, prepare grill for medium-high heat. Brush both sides of bread with remaining 4 tablespoons oil and grill until lightly charred, about 2 minutes per side.
• Spoon eggplant mixture on toast and top with basil and Parmesan; cut toast in half.
• Do ahead: Eggplant can be cooked 2 days ahead. Let cool; cover and chill.

EGGPLANT PARMESAN WITH CRISP BREAD CRUMB TOPPING

Steps:

• 1. In a large skillet, heat the 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the onion and garlic and cook over moderate heat until tender, about 5 minutes. Using your hands, crush the whole tomatoes into the skillet. Bring to a simmer and cook over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is very thick, about 25 minutes. Transfer the tomato sauce to a food processor and puree until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. 2. Meanwhile, in a very large skillet, heat 1/4 inch of olive oil. Season the eggplant slices with salt and pepper. Working in several batches, cook the eggplant over moderately high heat, turning once, until golden on both sides, about 8 minutes per batch; add more olive oil to the skillet between batches. Drain the eggplant slices on paper towels. 3. Preheat the oven to 400°. Spread 1 cup of the tomato sauce in a 9-by-13-inch glass or ceramic baking dish. Arrange one-third of the fried eggplant slices in the baking dish and sprinkle all over with 1 tablespoon of the chopped basil. Top with one-third of the torn mozzarella and sprinkle with 1/3 cup of the grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. Repeat this layering twice. Sprinkle the bread crumbs all over the top of the eggplant Parmesan. Bake in the upper third of the oven for about 45 minutes, until the top of the eggplant Parmesan is golden and the tomato sauce is bubbling. Let stand for 15 minutes before serving.

EGGPLANT AND COUNTRY BREAD LASAGNA

Steps:

• Trim the stem and bottom ends of the eggplants. Peel off all the skin if it is tough, or, with tender eggplant, remove ribbons of peel in a striped pattern (see box, page 254).
• With a sharp chef's knife, cut all the eggplant lengthwise into slices, about 1/3 inch thick. Toss a few slices at a time in the flour (in a large bowl or on a tray) to coat completely on both sides; shake off the excess and pile in another bowl or tray.
• Pour 2 or 3 tablespoons of the canola oil into the skillet and tilt it so the entire bottom is coated with a thin film of oil. Set the pan over medium-high heat for a couple of minutes.
• Lay a batch of eggplant slices in the pan with plenty of space between them. You want to brown the pieces quickly, with minimal oil, so keep the heat up but don't let the oil smoke or the vegetables burn. Fry the slices for about 2 minutes, until lightly colored on the underside, then flip them over and fry 2 minutes on the second side. Drain the slices on sheets of paper towel and sprinkle with a couple pinches of salt while hot.
• Brown the remaining floured eggplant in batches, adding oil to the pan as needed. Remove to paper towels and salt them right away, using about 1/2 teaspoon for all the slices.
• Assemble and bake the lasagna as in the main recipe.
• I always used to boil vegetables in salted water. But recently I started salting certain vegetables after they were cooked, tossing them immediately after draining with medium-coarse salt, while they were still steaming hot, and I found I liked it. Does it make that much difference? Indeed it does. Instead of making a saline solution out of the boiling water that permeates the vegetable throughout, salting later allows the vegetable to retain its pure vegetable flavor, and then the sprinkled salt adds another dimension of flavor by seeping in gently while it is still hot. The vegetables that best respond to this method are string beans, broccoli, and zucchini. But I find it also true of cabbage, beets, chard, and other greens.

EGGPLANT BREAD

Steps:

• Prepare a grill for high heat. Pierce the eggplant a few times with a fork or knife. Place on the grill, cover, and cook the eggplant, turning every 8 to 10 minutes, until completely charred on all sides and the flesh is soft when pressed, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and cool slightly for 10 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Spray an 8 1/2-inch-by-4 1/2-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.
• Remove the eggplant to a cutting board and squeeze gently to crack the skin so the flesh is exposed. Use a spoon to remove the flesh into a colander set over a bowl (you should have about 1 1/3 cups of flesh). Let it sit for 10 minutes to remove some of the moisture. Transfer the flesh to a large bowl. Add the vegetable oil, vanilla and eggs to the bowl and whisk until well combined.
• Whisk the flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda and kosher salt in a medium bowl. Add the flour mixture to the eggplant mixture and fold with a rubber spatula until everything is combined. Fold in 1 cup of the pistachios. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with just a few crumbs sticking to it, 1 hour to 1 hour 20 minutes.
• Let cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack. Flip the pan over to remove the bread and let cool completely on a wire rack, 40 to 50 minutes.
• Whisk the confectioners' sugar, butter, honey and 1 teaspoon water in a small bowl until smooth and thick. Spread the frosting on top of the bread, then sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup pistachios and the flakey sea salt.

EGGPLANT PARMESAN WITH CRISP BREAD CRUMB TOPPING

Steps:

• In a large skillet, heat the 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the onion and garlic and cook over moderate heat until tender, about 5 minutes. Using your hands, crush the whole tomatoes into the skillet. Bring to a simmer and cook over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is very thick, about 25 minutes. Transfer the tomato sauce to a food processor and puree until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
• Meanwhile, in a very large skillet, heat 1/4 inch of olive oil. Season the eggplant slices with salt and pepper. Working in several batches, cook the eggplant over moderately high heat, turning once, until golden on both sides, about 8 minutes per batch; add more olive oil to the skillet between batches. Drain the eggplant slices on paper towels.
• Preheat the oven to 400°. Spread 1 cup of the tomato sauce in a 9-by-13-inch glass or ceramic baking dish. Arrange one-third of the fried eggplant slices in the baking dish and sprinkle all over with 1 tablespoon of the chopped basil. Top with one-third of the torn mozzarella and sprinkle with 1/3 cup of the grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. Repeat this layering twice. Sprinkle the bread crumbs all over the top of the eggplant Parmesan. Bake in the upper third of the oven for about 45 minutes, until the top of the eggplant Parmesan is golden and the tomato sauce is bubbling. Let stand for 15 minutes before serving.