Monday, July 7, 2008

Lilly's Eggplant Stew

Last night we made an eggplant stew that was a combination of Indonesian and Moroccan recipes we have used in the past. We served the stew with pineapple rice. The whole family loved it. I am calling it Lilly's stew because my daughter, Lillian, picked out the eggplant at the Farmer's Market.

Ingredients:
  • 1 eggplant, cubed
  • 2 medium size sweet potatoes
  • 1 can diced tomatoes
  • 1/2 onion, sliced
  • 3 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 1 1/2 t ginger
  • Crushed red pepper
  • 1 cup coconut milk
  • 3 T soy sauce
  • 1 t brown sugar
  • Cilantro, as much or as little as you like
  1. Saute over medium heat onion, garlic and sweet potatoes with a dash of olive oil and the ginger and crushed red pepper, until onion starts to brown and sweet potatoes start to soften. [I didn't have any fresh ginger on hand, and my husband isn't a huge ginger fan, BUT, if you like ginger, fresh ginger would be good. I only used a few pinches of crushed red pepper for the kids.]
  2. Meanwhile, combine the coconut milk, soy sauce and brown sugar in a bowl.
  3. Add the eggplant and chopped tomatoes with a dash of salt and continue to cook over medium heat for another two minutes or so.
  4. Stir in the coconut milk mixture and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer about 10-15 minutes - until the eggplant is soft and the sauce thickens.
  5. Serve with cilantro and sour cream, if desired, over a bed of pineapple rice.

For the pineapple rice, I used basmati rice made with about 3/4 cup of pineapple juice (the amount of juice in a can of pineapple chunks) and 1 1/4 cup of water. You could also add some garbanzo beans to the stew for some added protein.

As a side note, the coconut cream and pineapple juice were left over from making the "Tropsicles" in the July/August 2008 Vegetarian Times Magazine.

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