Eggplant with Miso Topping (Nasu Dengaku)

The side dish which Michelle picked for the Japanese theme meal is Eggplant with Miso Topping (Nasu Dengaku). It was a last minute addition as Michelle found Asian eggplant on sales while she was groceries shopping for the community kitchen.

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Eggplant with Miso Topping is Michelle’s favourite dish to order at Japanese restaurants.

Ingredients

  • 3 to 4 Chinese or Japanese eggplants
  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil
  • 1 tablespoon canola or any neutral oil
  • sesame seeds to garnish

Miso Topping

  • 5 tablespoons white miso paste
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 tablespoon mirin
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1/2 cup water

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Source: Let’s Cook Japanese Food by A. Kaneko

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Whole Wheat Pasta with Eggplant

For the main course, Minoo prepared a Whole Wheat Pasta with Eggplant. Stella had expressed her desire to learn how to use eggplant before. So, this recipe is a great addition to Stella’s recipe repertoire.

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This Whole Wheat Pasta with Eggplant is a vegetarian pasta dish. Although the whole wheat pasta is much coarser than the regular pasta, it is a much healthier alternative.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound eggplant
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 2 x 28 ounce cans plus 1 x 15 ounce can peeled tomatoes, chopped or 3 pounds fresh tomatoes
  • 3 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil or 1 1/2 tablespoons dried
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley or 1/2 tablespoon dried
  • 12 ounces spaghetti
  • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, optional

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Source: unknown via Minoo

Serves 4

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Baba Gha-Hummus Sandwiches

Minoo also prepared some Baba Gha-Hummus for making Baba Gha-Hummus Sandwiches for the South Arm Christmas Craft Fair fund raising. Minoo was given a lot of ready made hummus and all she did was to roast some eggplant to make Baba Gha-Hummus. If you’ll like to make Baba Gha-Hummus from scratch, here is the recipe.

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Baba Gha-Hummus Sandwiches is a sandwich with middle eastern twist. It is not a common sandwich that you’ll find in the store.

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While the fillings of the sandwiches were prepared by volunteers from the South Arm Community Kitchen, the assembly of the sandwiches was done by another group of participants from the South Arm Cooking Club for Seniors and also 4 teenagers volunteers on the morning of the craft fair. This team was led by Phil. Thank you all who volunteer.

Ingredients

  • 2 tubs hummus
  • 1 large eggplant, roasted
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 cucumber, sliced
  • 60 sliced whole wheat bread

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Source: Minoo; makes 30 sandwiches

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Stuffed Eggplants

Jorge selected a theme of French cuisine for the South Arm Cooking Club for Seniors. Jorge landed in Quebec and stayed there for 3 years where he got his French influence. The recipes he selected for this kitchen were largely influenced by the region of Provence of France. The region of Provence has abundance of fresh vegetables, herbs and seafood due to it’s Mediterranean climate and location next to the Mediterranean Sea.

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The first dish is Stuffed Eggplants. I find that eggplant is a vegetable that I seldom used because it’s like an oil sponge. It soaks up oil like a sponge. I’m glad to learn a new recipe with eggplant.

Ingredients

  • 3 eggplants (large plumb variety)
  • 5 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for brushing
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 2 celery stalks, chopped
  • 3 red or green bell peppers, halved, seeded and chopped
  • 4 ripe tomatoes, diced
  • 3 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 4 tablespoons Parmesan cheese (optional)
  • salt and pepper to taste

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Source: Jorge Videunez

Prep time: 30 minutes;  Cook time: 1 hour;  Serve 12

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Filipino Cuisine: Eggplant Torta

Linda shared a few Filipino recipes in the Gilmore Park Church Community Kitchen. Linda loves to cook. She used to do catering for parties but she stopped doing so after she had trouble with her hand. Perhaps due to too much heavy lifting while doing the catering.

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The first Filipino dish is called Eggplant Torta or Eggplant Omelet.  This is really great as it is crunchy on the crust and the eggplant inside is very tender. We should have leave the cap intact so that it is more visible as an eggplant like those I saw in Filipino groceries store.

Ingredients

  • 6 long eggplants
  • 6 eggs, beaten slightly
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • Panko breadcrumbs
  • Garlic Plus seasoning (from Costco)

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Source: Linda

Prep time: 30 minutes;  Cook time: 20 minutes;  Serves 6

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How To Make Baba Gha-Hummus

When I asked Minoo about the origin of this dish, she told me it’s a combination of Persian’s Baba Ganouj (an eggplant dip) and Greek Hummus, hence the name Baba Gha-Hummus.

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Minoo is not sure of the source of this recipe as she has a huge repertoire of recipes collection.

Prep time: 45 mins;  Yield: 3 cups

Ingredients

  • 1 large eggplant
  • 3 tablespoons tahini (sesame-seed paste)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
  • 2 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained

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