Hopvine's Marinated Roasted Eggplant (Aubergine)

Submitted by Julesong

"At the Hopvine Pub in Seattle, I often order a custom pizza that has pesto, feta, mushrooms, and eggplant on it. (In fact, I've posted my version here as "Eggplant Mushroom Feta Pesto Pizza" - yum!) Recently, I asked them about the eggplant, because I'd noticed on the menu under another description that it said it was their own marinated recipe. A few minutes later, the waiter showed up at the table and handed me a ticket with ingredients on it! Not a recipe, exactly, as no amounts were shown, but here's what I've done with it (with a few tweaks). :) I use these marinated eggplant pieces in sandwiches and on pizza, but I'm sure you can find other uses for them as well. Delicious! Prep time includes chilling."

 

• Ready In: 1hr 5mins
• Ingredients: 11
• Serves: 4-6

ingredients

• 1 medium globe eggplants or 2 medium Japanese eggplants
• 1⁄3 cup olive oil
• 3 tablespoons champagne vinegar or 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1⁄4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1⁄4 teaspoon dried fennel seed
• 1⁄4 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1⁄2 teaspoon dried basil, crushed before adding
• 1⁄2 teaspoon oregano, crushed before adding
• 1⁄4 teaspoon kosher salt, to taste
• 1⁄8 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper, to taste

directions

1. Remove the peel of the eggplant. (If using Japanese eggplant, it's not necessary to remove the peel.).
2. Slice the peeled eggplant thinly, about 1/8 inch thick, then make into smaller pieces (about 1"x2" strips).
3. Combine remaining ingredients in a plastic airtight container.
4. Add the eggplant pieces, cover, and shake well to coat.
5. Chill in refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
6. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
7. Place eggplant pieces on a non-stick baking sheet and roast for 7 minutes, then carefully turn them and roast another 7 minutes until tender.
8. Keep the eggplant pieces refrigerated in an airtight container until you use them; they'll keep for up to 3 or 4 days.
9. You can use the eggplant in various ways: put them in sandwiches, or (as I do) put the marinated eggplant pieces on your pizza along with the other veggies!
10. Note: this marinade is also good for other roasted vegetables like asparagus; you can also grill the eggplant slices instead of roasting and use them as an appetizer (I use my Foreman grill), to make appetizers with them I usually use unpeeled Asian eggplant instead of the regular kind and slice them diagonally about 1/4-inch thick before grilling.

Reviews

[bigdaddylikestocook]

cooked mine on the BBQ. very good.

 

[Nati]

The texture of these came out very good, which is why I didn't give it 1 star. But, though I am a huge vinegar lover, these were way too vinegary for me. I might try again with half the vinegar or something.

 

[Elainia]

I made this tonight for my own version of mushroom eggplant pizza and I have to say that this is THE best recipe for eggplant I have ever tried. I left out the fennel because I didn't have any. I used japanese eggplant so I didn't have to peel them. Watch them, they cook fast! I can see these will be great skewered on the grill too. Thanks for adding a new fave to my recipe collection!

 

[amylisai]

This is a very good marinade that produces a strong balsamic flavored eggplant--yet you can still taste the rosemary, etc. The marinade itself would probably make a good salad dressing. I skinned my eggplants and then ran them through the quisinart so prep time was nil. I did use these to make Julesong's pizza recipe as she recommended (with home made dough from a different eggplant recipe). It was a very good pizza, just not five stars 'cause to me it was very strong and so has limited appeal. Thanks for the great recipe!

 

[LadyPoe]

Tasty marinade. I think next time I would cook the eggplant longer or at a higher temperature as I think this would be great crispy!