With all of the talk about peppers and eggplant, thought I'd share this
recent experiment which turned out quite well. The first time we had it on
excellent italian bread (Gonella brand for those of you who live in the
Chicago area) and the second time I chopped the leftovers into smaller pieces
and made a filling for corn tortillas and served with a side of chopped
tomatoes with fresh cilantro and chopped onions.
1 eggplant, sliced 1/2" thick
1 red pepper
1 yellow pepper
1 onion sliced in to 1/4" slices
2-3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Get your grill going really hot. Put on the slices of eggplant, the peppers
(whole) and the onion slices. Turn the veggies as they brown on the grill.
Allow the peppers to char before turning.
When the peppers are completely charred, take them from the grill and place
in a paper lunch bag - close tightly.
Place the other veggies in a dish with sides or a bowl and sprinkle with
balsamic vinegar. As they cool to room temp they will soak up the flavor of
the vinegar.
Open the bag with the peppers after 10-15 minutes and slip the skins off of
the peppers. You can also easily remove the stem and seeds at this point and
slice the peppers in to pieces. Add the peppers to the other veg/vinegar mix
and toss.
At this point, you can layer the veggies on bread and sprinkle with ff
mozzarella and broil or you can chop them into smaller bits and use as a
filling for tortillas - very good also at room temp on a bed of fancy greens
as a beautiful main dish salad. Just add a little more vinegar if necessary
for dressing.
The balsamic vinegar adds even more sweetness to the vegetables and gives
them a really full flavor.
Ruth in the stormy Chicago 'burbs