Sauteed Eggplant with Garlic, Cumin & Feta

A promised, more eggplant recipes! This one was made as an accompaniment to the Feta Cucumber sandwiches in my last post.

The original recipe called for the Garlic-Cumin concoction to be used as a vinaigrette, but I wanted something with cooked garlic, so I ended up throwing the vinaigrette in the pan with the eggplants at the last minute for a minute or two. Also, since I only had fingerling eggplants, I opted to sauté the eggplants instead of grilling them. 

Here is the original recipe, from Kalyn's Kitchen: Grilled Eggplant Recipe with Garlic-Cumin Vinaigrette, Feta, and Two Herbs

Ingredients
1 large fingerling eggplant, cut in uniform slices 3/4 inch thick
2 tbsp chopped fresh mint
2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup crumbled feta
1/2 tsp crushed garlic
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 shallot, finely minced
1/2 tsp ground cumin
pinch cayenne pepper
3 T extra-virgin olive oil

Directions
1. Put garlic, salt, lemon juice, and shallots or red onion into food processor fitted with steel blade, Pulse until all ingredients are well combined, then let sit for 10 minutes. (This could also be done in a blender.) After ten minutes, put mixture in small bowl, stir in ground cumin and cayenne pepper, then whisk in olive oil.
2. Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat, and saute the eggplants for about 5 minutes. Add the garlic-cumin mixture to the pan and stir. Let it simmer with the eggplants for about a minute or two.
3. To serve, top with crumbled feta and herbs.

Watermelon Cucumber Salad

Normally, I would never buy a whole watermelon for just me and Mark. But a farmer at the Green Market was selling watermelon, which was one of the tastiest watermelons I've ever had. A week later, we still had half of the thing using more than its fair share of real estate in our fridge, so it was time to find something useful to do with it. This is a creative salad that will help use up your watermelon. It's pretty quick, and it is really, really yummy.

Adapted from Food Network

Ingredients
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
4 cups diced watermelon
1 cucumber, seeded and diced
handful thinly sliced mint
chopped cashews
1/4 cup olive oil
juice from 1/2 a lemon

Directions
Soak the red onion in cold water. Pat the diced watermelon and cucumber dry, then toss with the mint. Drain the onion, squeeze it dry and add to the salad along with the cashews. To make the dressing, whip the olive oil, lemon juice, and salt. Gently toss the watermelon mixture with the dressing.

Serves 4

Chickpea & Feta Veggie Burgers with Cilantro Garlic Yogurt Sauce

My friend and fellow foodie, Jeff came across this recipe and shared it with me a few months ago. I wasn't able to make it until I got a blender, but ideally this would be made in a food processor. It is reminiscent of falafels, one of my favorite foods. 

If you are in the cilantro hating camp, this sauce is not the one for you. But, if you love cilantro, I highly recommend trying this. It is not as garlicky as tzatziki sauce, but it has a more complex taste to it, probably from the mint and cayenne.

Adapted from RecipeZaar and Epicurious

Chickpea & Feta Veggie Burgers

2 scallions, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
1/2 large sweet onion, coarsely chopped
2 (15 ounce) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed (3 cups)
1/4 cup tahini
3 eggs
1 medium carrot, chopped
1/4 cup feta cheese
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
black pepper, to taste
1 1/2 cups dry breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon olive oil (to taste)

1. Set the oven at 300 degrees. In a food processor, combine the scallions, garlic, onion, chickpeas, tahini, eggs, carrot, feta, Parmesan, cilantro, salt, and pepper. Pulse the mixture until well blended. Scrape the mixture into a large bowl. Stir in the bread crumbs.
2. Shape the chick pea mixture into 8 patties. Set the oven at 300 degrees. Have on hand a rimmed baking sheet.
3. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Working in two batches, cook 4 patties for 6 minutes or until browned on the bottom. Turn and cook for 5 to 6 minutes more or until the patties are brown on the bottom and hot in the center.
4. Place the burgers on a baking sheet; keep warm in the oven. Cook the remaining patties in the same way.
5. Serve in halved pita pockets with a dollop of cilantro garlic yogurt sauce.

Makes 8 large burgers

Cilantro Garlic Yogurt Sauce

1 1/2 cups plain whole-milk Greek-style yogurt
3/4 cup finely chopped cilantro
4 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic
3/4 teaspoon cayenne

Stir together all ingredients with 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste), then chill, covered, at least 30 minutes (for flavors to blend). Bring to room temperature before serving.

Makes 2 cups of sauce

Note: If you can't find Greek-style yogurt, you can thicken 3 cups regular plain whole-milk yogurt by draining it in a paper-towel-lined sieve, chilled, at least 1 hour and up to 1 day. Sauce can be chilled up to 6 hours