Happy Memorial Day!!! I hope you all are spending lot of quality time with your family and close friends this weekend. I know that many of you will be getting in that QT with your loved one overe a BBQ somewhere and I wanted to give you a side dish idea that is a little outside the box- but totally delicious and quite a looker if I do say so myself!

Grilled Eggplant with Sweet and Smoky Tomato Sauce

One of our favorite restaurants in Seattle is Omega. If you live here and haven’t been, you have to go. My husbands family says it is the most authentic Greek food you can find in the city, and trust me, that means something.

Grilled Eggplant with Sweet and Smoky Tomato Sauce

We all went to celebrate my mother-in-laws birthday last weekend, and we ordered like the little piggies that we are- which is to say: everything. Pete also went out of his way to make sure that there were plenty of dishes with no dairy, eggs or gluten so that I could eat. (Basically I ate my way into a food coma). One of the dishes they brought for me was a version of this here.

Grilled Eggplant with Sweet and Smoky Tomato Sauce

Now, to be honest, I (at least in my mind) don’t like eggplant. It’s weird and historically I will go to pretty decent lengths to avoid it. But like a good little eater, I gave this a taste the other night. And low and behold it was totally delicious. It had mostly to do with the way the eggplant was prepared (grilled- so it had a nice charred flavor) and then primarily, the sauce. The tomato sauce was savory and a touch smoky, but had a nice sweet honey- cinnamon flavor too it. I tried really hard to recreate just that in this. And what a lovely dish to serve alongside your BBQ’d meats this weekend?! Have fun and Enjoy!

(this is a recipe for a crowd, feel free to cut this in half to feed 4-6 people)

Recipe: Grilled Eggplant with Sweet and Smoky Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

  • Sweet and Smoky Tomato Sauce
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • 1 large yellow onion, roughly chopped
  • 3 cups crushed tomatoes
  • 2 tablespoons honey (or agave for a vegan recipe)
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
  • kosher salt
  • Grilled Eggplant and Onions
  • 2 large eggplant, cut lengthwise into wedges
  • 1 red onion, cut into wedges (with the root end holding it intact)
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • kosher salt
  • Chives for garnish, minced

Instructions

  1. In a medium sauté pan over medium heat, add the olive oil and the onion. Saute until tender about 7 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes and stir to combine. Pull the sauce from the heat and transfer to the jar of a blender. Puree on high until you have a smooth sauce. Add the honey, cinnamon and smoked paprika and pulse to combine. Season to taste with kosher salt. Set aside and bring to a simmer over low heat to reheat while the vegetables are grilling.
  2. Preheat your grill to high. Brush the eggplant and the onion generously with the olive oil and sprinkle with salt.
  3. Grill the eggplant and onion wedges until tender and left with char marks. Every grill is different, but about 5 minutes on each side. Sprinkle with kosher salt.
  4. Transfer them to a platter and top with a generous amount of the tomato sauce and a sprinkling of chives.

Preparation time: 15 minute(s)

Cooking time: 30 minute(s)

Number of servings (yield): 12

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Categorized: Grilling, Recipe Index, Sauces, Side dishes
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Happy Memorial Day!!! I hope you all are spending lot of quality time with your family and close friends this weekend. I know that many of you will be getting in that QT with your loved one overe a BBQ somewhere and I wanted to give you a side dish idea that is a little outside the box- but totally delicious and quite a looker if I do say so myself!

Grilled Eggplant with Sweet and Smoky Tomato Sauce

One of our favorite restaurants in Seattle is Omega. If you live here and haven’t been, you have to go. My husbands family says it is the most authentic Greek food you can find in the city, and trust me, that means something.

Grilled Eggplant with Sweet and Smoky Tomato Sauce

We all went to celebrate my mother-in-laws birthday last weekend, and we ordered like the little piggies that we are- which is to say: everything. Pete also went out of his way to make sure that there were plenty of dishes with no dairy, eggs or gluten so that I could eat. (Basically I ate my way into a food coma). One of the dishes they brought for me was a version of this here.

Grilled Eggplant with Sweet and Smoky Tomato Sauce

Now, to be honest, I (at least in my mind) don’t like eggplant. It’s weird and historically I will go to pretty decent lengths to avoid it. But like a good little eater, I gave this a taste the other night. And low and behold it was totally delicious. It had mostly to do with the way the eggplant was prepared (grilled- so it had a nice charred flavor) and then primarily, the sauce. The tomato sauce was savory and a touch smoky, but had a nice sweet honey- cinnamon flavor too it. I tried really hard to recreate just that in this. And what a lovely dish to serve alongside your BBQ’d meats this weekend?! Have fun and Enjoy!

(this is a recipe for a crowd, feel free to cut this in half to feed 4-6 people)

Recipe: Grilled Eggplant with Sweet and Smoky Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

  • Sweet and Smoky Tomato Sauce
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • 1 large yellow onion, roughly chopped
  • 3 cups crushed tomatoes
  • 2 tablespoons honey (or agave for a vegan recipe)
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
  • kosher salt
  • Grilled Eggplant and Onions
  • 2 large eggplant, cut lengthwise into wedges
  • 1 red onion, cut into wedges (with the root end holding it intact)
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • kosher salt
  • Chives for garnish, minced

Instructions

  1. In a medium sauté pan over medium heat, add the olive oil and the onion. Saute until tender about 7 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes and stir to combine. Pull the sauce from the heat and transfer to the jar of a blender. Puree on high until you have a smooth sauce. Add the honey, cinnamon and smoked paprika and pulse to combine. Season to taste with kosher salt. Set aside and bring to a simmer over low heat to reheat while the vegetables are grilling.
  2. Preheat your grill to high. Brush the eggplant and the onion generously with the olive oil and sprinkle with salt.
  3. Grill the eggplant and onion wedges until tender and left with char marks. Every grill is different, but about 5 minutes on each side. Sprinkle with kosher salt.
  4. Transfer them to a platter and top with a generous amount of the tomato sauce and a sprinkling of chives.

Preparation time: 15 minute(s)

Cooking time: 30 minute(s)

Number of servings (yield): 12

Recipe by Heather Christo (http://heatherchristo.com)