Mexican Eggplant Recipes

EGGPLANT TACOS

Steps:

• Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Stir onion, lemon juice, garlic, and jalapeno pepper into skillet; bring to a simmer and cook until onions soften, about 3 minutes.
• Stir eggplant, cumin, paprika, chili powder, black pepper, and seasoned salt into onion mixture; drizzle remaining olive oil over the top. Cook, stirring occasionally, until eggplant reduces in size and softens, about 15 minutes. Spoon eggplant mixture into tortilla shells.

EASY MEXICAN EGGPLANT CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees Cut unpeeled eggplant into 1/2 inch slices and brush all sides with oil (or spray will olive oil) Arrange in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast, uncovered in 450 degree oven until soft, about 20 minutes. Turn down oven to 350 degrees after you remove eggplant. In bowl, combine tomato sauce, Rotel tomatoes, green onions, garlic salt & olives. Salt eggplant more, if desired. Spread a few Tablespoons of sauce on bottom of 1- 1/2 quart casserole dish. Line bottom with half of eggplant, overlapping slightly. Spoon on half the sauce and half the cheese. Repeat, ending with cheese on top. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees until hot and bubbly, about 25 minutes. Pass sour cream to spoon over individual servings.

BERENJENA A LA VERACRUZANA - MEXICAN EGGPLANT IN SAUCE

Steps:

• Cut the peel from the eggplant and cut into approximate 1/2 to 3/4 inch strips. Add them a handful at a time to a colander, salting them well between layers, until all of them are in the colander. Set aside for 30 minutes to allow them to "sweat" their bitterness out and lose liquid.
• While the eggplant is in the colander, make the sauce. In a large, heavy pot (I use my Le Creuset), heat the olive oil. Add the onion and sauté until just translucent. Add the garlic and chiles, stir well, and sauté, stirring occasionally, for an additional 7-10 minutes until onion is soft.
• Add the tomatoes and stir well. Sauté, stirring occasionally, for 10-15 minutes and the liquids are reduced by about half.
• Rinse the salted eggplant and drain well.
• Add all the remaining ingredients (including eggplant) to the pot, stir well, and cover. Cook for 15-20 minutes until eggplant is well-cooked and the sauce is the consistency that you like (you may want to remove the cover for the last 5 minutes to reduce the sauce a bit). Remove bay leaves.
• Serve with polenta rounds or squares (or some other favorite method of prepared polenta), drizzled with a little crema. Enjoy!

CHEESY AUBERGINE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450.
• Spray baking sheet with oil and place eggplant slices on it in a single layer. Spray the tops of the eggplant with oil. Bake until soft when pressed about 15-25 minutes.
• Meanwhile , in a small pot, combine tomato sauce, chiles, onions, cumin, garlic powder and olives. Bring to a simmer, then simmer, uncovered, over medium-low heat for 10 minutes.
• Turn oven down to 350 when eggplant is done.
• Arrange half the eggplant slices in a single layer over the bottom of a shallow 1 1/2 quart baking dish. Spoon half the sauce over eggplant and sprinkle with half the cheese. Repeat layers ending with cheese.
• Bake at 350 until heated through and bubbly (about 30 minutes).
• Top with sour cream if desired.