Grilled Eggplant With Ricotta and Tomato

Submitted by bluemoon downunder

"A tasty side-dish for those who love classic Mediterranean flavours. Serve with grilled or BBQed chicken or kebabs. Or serve it as a stand-alone brunch or light lunch dish with pita bread or warm crusty rolls. Best made with fresh ricotta rather than the tubbed supermarket ricottas. Adapted from a recipe in Lulu Grimes'"Food, Cook Eat: buy it fresh, cook it simply, eat it now""

 

• Ready In: 20mins
• Ingredients: 8
• Serves: 2

ingredients

• 1 medium eggplant, sliced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 250 g cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon capers, drained
• 3 tablespoons ricotta cheese, fresh rather than from a tub
• salt & freshly ground black pepper
• 12 small fresh basil leaves

directions

1. Heat the grill to high.
2. Brush the eggplant slices with some of the oil.
3. Grill the eggplant slices on both sides until brown, then place them in the bottom of a lightly greased, small shallow baking pan that will fit under the grill, and set aside.
4. Over a medium heat, add the rest of the oil to a small sauté pan (preferably non-stick), add the cherry tomatoes and garlic and sauté for a couple of minutes, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes begin to soften.
5. While still stirring, add the capers and leave the pan over the heat for an additional minute.
6. Remove the pan from the heat.
7. Cover the eggplant slices with the tomato, garlic and capers, season to taste and spoon the ricotta over the tomatoes. (The amount of ricotta included in the ingredients may not completely cover the tomatoes; if you want to cover the tomatoes, use more ricotta.).
8. Place the baking pan under the grill until the ricotta starts to bubble.
9. Scatter the basil leaves over the top and serve.

Reviews

[Kittencalrecipezazz]

oh yes capers and eggplant, my two favorites, how could this be anything but wonderful! I too increased the garlic and also added in some Parmesan cheese to the ricotta, I did increase the ricotta and capers also, thanks for sharing bluemoon, we enjoyed this dish!

 

[GFCFMama]

This was SO good! I didn't use capers and added more tomatoes and it was a huge hit with my family!

 

[natureprincess]

Excellent! I made a few modifications: I used a George Foreman grill and sprinkled Italian Seasoning on the eggplant before grilling, left out the garlic because I didn't feel like mincing, and I don't care for capers so I left them out. Assembled, sprinkled more Italian Seasoning and placed under broiler until ricotta was golden brown. Yum!

 

[lunaorion]

This was awesome-- I didn't have a grill so I broiled my eggplant slices til they were soft enough. As they were going, I cooked the tomatoes and capers, then I made eggplant rollatinis using the tomato mixture as filling. I mixed the pan drippings with the ricotta and smoothed it over the eggplant rolls in a casserole and slid it back under the broiler til bubbly. Garnished with the basil, it was pretty and delicious!

 

[Mamas Kitchen Hope]

I also used a little more garlic but everything else was followed. Great tasting recipe! Really nice!