Grilled Eggplant with Tomato & Burrata
40 Min
GF

Grilled Eggplant with Tomato & Burrata

Eggplant season has arrived in Houston at a time of soaring temperatures. Tiny little green eggplants to add to a curry, long skinny purple ones to oven roast or stuff with anything from cheese, other vegetables to beans. But the best way to cook them is outdoors over a grill when the heat becomes unbearable and warming the kitchen with cooking is undesirable. You could also smoke them over an outdoor grill until the skin becomes black and crackly, then peel the skin off and simply season the inside with salt, olive oil, garlic and tomatoes.

An easier way to cook them is to rub the eggplant with salt and ground cardamom to mellow out the bitter flavors and add an aromatic finish, which is what we are doing in this recipe. The coriander seeds add a lemony finish to the tomatoes. Find the best farm grown eggplants and heirloom tomatoes to start with and you can treat them as minimally as you want with guaranteed good results! 

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Cook Time

40 Minutes

Serves

6

Step 1
Slice the eggplant into 1-inch-thick slices and rub with salt, cardamom and black pepper. Let them rest for 10 to 15 minutes.
Step 2
Rub about half the oil over the eggplant slices and over a hot grill, cook them on both sides for about 3 to 4 minutes each until they have some color.
Step 3
Slice the tomatoes into thick wedges and place a wedge over each eggplant. Top with a pinch of salt, coriander seeds and little more olive oil. Let them cook on the grill, covered for another 5 minutes.
Step 4
Turn the grill off and top with burrata. Let the eggplant rest in the hot grill for another 5 to 7 minutes – it will finish cooking and the burrata will soften.
Step 5
Serve topped off with the remaining olive oil, a sprinkle of salt, pepper and cardamom and serve over lettuce leaves or sautéed spinach.

1-pound purple eggplants (2 large or 3 medium) 

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon ground cardamom

1 teaspoon black pepper



4 to 5 tablespoons olive oil

1 large heirloom tomato

1 teaspoon cracked coriander seeds

12-oz burrata cheese



4 cups spinach

Notes & Variations

  • If you prefer to cook this dish in the oven, sear the eggplant slices on both sides and finish in a preheated oven until ready.
  • Add minced serrano peppers below the tomato for a hot kick to the eggplant. Or top with red chile powder just before serving.
  • The grilled eggplant with all its fixings can be enjoyed on its own or inside two pieces of bread or a bun in a sandwich.
Tags:
40 Min
GF

Make eggplants your new go-to.

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