Nothing is more attractive than a man that can cook! So here is one of the recipes I've used. It's for Stewed Eggplant. A lot of people get scared to cook eggplant, but it's really not that hard. And best of all, your date will be impressed! Just pair this dish with some baguette, cooked chorizo or shrimp and a nice bottle of Spanish red wine, I prefer a nice Tempranillo.
Stewed Eggplant
Ingredients:
1 large eggplant
5 tbsp olive oil
2 shallots, thinly sliced
4 ripe tomatoes, cut into quarters
3 garlic cloves, crushed with a knife
6 tbsp red wine (you could just use the wine you're going to serve)
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
salt and ground black pepper
extra chopped parsley for garnishing
Directions:
1) Cut the eggplant into 1/2 inch thick round slices. Rinse in a colander and sprinkle with 2 tsp salt. Let them sit in the colander for about 30min.
2) Rinse the eggplant again and drain all the water. Then pat them dry with a paper towel to help remove any excess moisture.
3) In a large pan, heat about 2 tbsp of the oil. Place a single layer of the eggplant in the pan and fry. Turn periodically until golden brown. Then place them on a plate with a paper towel to absorb the oil. Repeat this with all the eggplant.
4) Heat another 2 - 3 tbsp of the oil in the pan. Add the shallots and garlic. Cook for about 6 minutes, until golden. While that cooks, cut the cooked eggplant into strips.
5) Stir in the eggplant with tomatoes and wine. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes
6) Stir in the parsley and taste for the seasoning. Add extra salt or pepper as needed.
7) Serve in a nice dish and top with some fresh chopped parsley.
***This dish can be served cold too. Just sprinkle some olive oil on top before serving.***
And one last thing. Don't worry too much about how you chop things. The point of this dish is the flavors, not how well you could use a knife. If it tastes good, your date will not care how well you chopped!
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