{"id":2744,"date":"2010-07-27T09:12:57","date_gmt":"2010-07-27T16:12:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shescookin.com\/?p=2744"},"modified":"2013-05-26T14:44:59","modified_gmt":"2013-05-26T21:44:59","slug":"greek-style-eggplant-spread","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shescookin.com\/greek-style-eggplant-spread\/","title":{"rendered":"Greek-style Eggplant Spread"},"content":{"rendered":"

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New readers (thank you!) may not know what a big fan of eggplant I am. \u00a0In fact, one of my signature recipes is a lower-calorie version of eggplant parmesan, which I have aptly named Eggplant Parmesan “My Way”<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/em>. \u00a0The Western (Globe) eggplant is your common grocery\u00a0store variety – they are typically large with glossy dark skin and the kind most often used in eggplant parmesan. Because they’re so large they are also an excellent choice for frying or grilling. Another variety is the Japanese or Asian eggplant which is smaller with a more elongated shape; we planted a few of these in our garden this year.<\/p>\n

This weekend, I grilled several along with the green peppers for \"\"<\/a>the “not your mama’s” stuffed peppers dish<\/a> I prepared. \u00a0Interesting factoid of the day: \u00a0the eggplant\u00a0is a member of the nightshade (Solanaceae) family and \u00a0is akin to the potato and tomato as well as the tomatillo and chayote. And, although it is generally treated as a vegetable, \u00a0the eggplant is really a fruit.<\/p>\n

Even though my favorite eggplant dish is Eggplant Parmesan, summer calls for something lighter – like a dip or spread to savor with a cool glass of Pinot Grigio.\u00a0Baba ghanoush<\/a> immediately came to mind…. but I wanted to be more creative, plus I didn’t have tahini which is an essential ingredient in Baba ghanoush. After surfing a bit with Google, I remembered this recipe from an article in Real Simple magazine about moms and daughters cooking together – I enjoyed the stories and recipes and this melitzanosalata<\/em> was exactly what I had in mind for those lovely aubergine nightshades.<\/p>\n

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