Crostini With Eggplant And Pine Nut PurÉe Recipes

EGGPLANT CAPONATA CROSTINI

Steps:

• In a 5-quart Dutch oven or pot, heat oil over medium-high. Add onion, raisins, pine nuts, garlic, and red-pepper flakes; cook stirring occasionally, until onion has softened, 4 to 6 minutes.
• Add tomato paste, cocoa powder, and sugar; cook, stirring, until tomato paste is fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Add eggplant, vinegar, and 1/3 cup water.
• Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until eggplant is tender and mixture is thick, 7 to 10 minutes. Season with salt and more sugar (up to 1 tablespoon), as desired.
• Preheat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Brush both sides bread with olive oil. Grill, turning once, until toasted and grill marks appear, about 2 minutes per side.
• Top grilled bread with caponata; garnish with basil leaves. Caponata can be refrigerated up to 5 days in an airtight container; let cool completely before storing.

CROSTINI WITH EGGPLANT AND PINE NUT PURéE

Steps:

• Heat broiler. Peel, and trim eggplant, and slice into rounds about 1/2 inch thick. Lightly brush both sides of each slice with oil, arrange on a sheet pan, and broil about 6 inches from heat until golden, 7 to 10 minutes. Turn, and brown the second side. Remove from broiler, and stack slices so they steam to finish cooking.
• Toast pine nuts in a small skillet over low heat, shaking often, until golden. Cool. Using a large mortar and pestle, grind pine nuts with garlic and 1/2 teaspoon salt until smooth. Coarsely chop eggplant, add to mixture, and work into a somewhat rough purée with the pestle or in a food processor. Add a little lemon juice to sharpen the flavor. Taste for salt; add more if needed, and season with pepper. Stir in herbs. Spread on baguette slices or crackers, and garnish with a basil leaf.

CROSTINI WITH GARDEN PUREE AND PARMIGIANO

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the peas, asparagus, and green beans and cook until bright green and crisp tender, about 3 minutes. (If you're using frozen peas, you can throw them in during the last couple of minutes, to thaw.) Drain, transfer to a bowl of salted ice water to stop the cooking, and drain again. Puree the vegetables in a food processor with the ricotta, green onion greens, a drizzle of oil, and salt and pepper to taste.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Brush the bread slices on 1 side with olive oil and put them, oiled sides up, on a baking sheet. Bake until lightly browned and crisp, about 10 minutes.
• To serve, spread the puree on the warm croutons, and top with shaved Parmigiano (shave with a vegetable peeler). Serve immediately.

PINE NUT AND DATE CROSTINI

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Spread the pine nuts on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until golden brown, about 8 minutes. Let cool slightly.
• Chop the dates and transfer them to a small skillet. Chop the toasted pine nuts and add them to the skillet along with the wine and honey. Stir to combine and cook over medium heat until the liquid is syrupy, 4 to 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, put the baguette slices on the rimmed baking sheet and a drizzle each slice with olive oil. Bake until toasted, 6 to 8 minutes (watch closely, as ovens vary).
• Top each toast with 1 tablespoon of the date mixture. Arrange the crostini on a platter and serve.

CROSTINI WITH EGGPLANT PESTO

Steps:

• Peel eggplant, leaving a few narrow bands of skin intact. Cut eggplant crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick rounds. Place on large baking sheet; sprinkle lightly with salt. Let stand 30 minutes.
• Preheat broiler. Rinse eggplant; pat dry with paper towels. Brush large baking sheet with olive oil. Brush eggplant rounds generously on both sides with olive oil. Place on prepared sheet. Broil eggplant until tender and golden brown, watching closely to avoid burning, about 6 minutes per side. Cool.
• Finely grind pine nuts and garlic in processor. Add eggplant and process to coarse puree. Transfer mixture to small bowl. Stir in chopped basil, parsley and mint. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Bring to room temperature before continuing.)
• Place eggplant pesto in center of platter and surround with toasts, or spread toasts with eggplant pesto and arrange on platter. Garnish with basil leaves and serve.

CROSTINI WITH EGGPLANT AND PINE NUT PURÉE

Steps:

• 1. Heat broiler. Peel, and trim eggplant, and slice into rounds about 1/2 inch thick. Lightly brush both sides of each slice with oil, arrange on a sheet pan, and broil about 6 inches from heat until golden, 7 to 10 minutes. Turn, and brown the second side. Remove from broiler, and stack slices so they steam to finish cooking. 2. Toast pine nuts in a small skillet over low heat, shaking often, until golden. Cool. Using a large mortar and pestle, grind pine nuts with garlic and 1/2 teaspoon salt until smooth. Coarsely chop eggplant, add to mixture, and work into a somewhat rough purée with the pestle or in a food processor. Add a little lemon juice to sharpen the flavor. Taste for salt; add more if needed, and season with pepper. Stir in herbs. Spread on baguette slices or crackers, and garnish with a basil leaf.

PENNE WITH EGGPLANT PUREE RECIPE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degree F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In a large bowl, combine the eggplant, tomatoes, garlic, 3 TBSP olive oil, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Spread the veggies on the baking sheet in an even layer. Roast in the oven until veggies are tender and the eggplant is golden about 35 minutes.
• While the veggies are roasting, place the pine nuts in a small baking dish. Place in the oven on the rack below the veggies. Roast until golden about 4 minutes, stirring once. Remove from oven and cool.
• Meanwhile cook pasta until al dente. Reserve 1 1/2 cups of the cooking liquid. Transfer pasta to a large bowl.
• Transfer the roasted veggies to a food processor. Add the remaining 3 TBSP olive oil and pulse until the veggies are ppuréed, but not too smooth. It should still be chunky.
• Transfer the puréed veggies to the bowl with the pasta. Add the Parmesan cheese. Stir to combine. Add the reserved cooking liquid 1/2 cup at a time until the pasta is saucy.
• Sprinkle with the pine nuts and serve.