Fire-Grilled Eggplant with Sweet Tomato Gravy
- Yield 4 to 6 servings
Grilled eggplant gets a summery topping of spicy tomato sauce.
Jessica Merchant
Ingredients
- 3 medium eggplants, unpeeled
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 -- jalapeno peppers, seeded, finely diced
- 1/3 cup lime juice
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for brushing eggplant
- 3/4 cup diced onion
- 2 medium green peppers, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt
- 10 to 12 large ripe Arizona tomatoes, chopped
- ¼ to 1 cup vegetable broth, if needed
- 1 -- (4-ounce) can diced green chilies
- 2 to 4 tablespoons honey
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
Instructions
- Slice eggplants lengthwise into 1/2-inch thick slices and discard outer slices. Each eggplant should yield about 4 to 5 slices. (Do not peel eggplants. The peeling helps to keep the eggplant intact while grilling)
- Combine marinade ingredients in a small bowl and refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight.
- Pour marinade over eggplant slices and refrigerate 20 minutes.
- While eggplant marinates, prepare tomato gravy. Heat olive oil in a large large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, pepper and garlic and sauté until almost tender. Add paprika and salt. Add diced tomatoes and cook until tomatoes are starting to break down but are not fully cooked. Add broth if necessary to add liquid to keep sauce from sticking. Add green chilies including juice and 2 tablespoons of honey. Additional honey may be added to taste. Cook 2 to 3 minutes.
- Heat a grill.
- Remove eggplant from marinade and brush with olive oil. Place eggplant on hot grill until browned. Flip and grill other side. Move eggplant to outer side of grill and close lid. Cook 2 to 3 minutes longer. Remove from grill and place on large platter or individual serving dishes. Sprinkle eggplant with coarse salt. Spoon tomato gravy over eggplant and garnish with additional tomatoes, if desired.
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