Recipe: Easy Eggplant Recipe

That is actually what this recipe from Alyona's Cooking is called. I know my last post was about eggplants, and this one is, too, for the same reason: I bought some eggplants but didn't know what to do with them. Thank goodness the internet has so many ideas!

Ingredients

• 1 ½ lbs eggplants (3 small eggplants, cut into chunks)
• 1 ½ lbs tomatoes (4 medium sized, diced)
• 1 onion (diced)
• 1 clove garlic (crushed)
• 2 large red bell peppers (cut into chunks)
• 2 carrots (grated)
• 1 ½ TBSP white distilled vinegar
• 1 ½ TBSP salt
• 1 ½ TBSP granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 2/3 cup white rice (jasmine rice or short-grain white rice)

Directions

1. Combine all the ingredients into a deep non-stick skillet or pot. Bring to a boil over high heat and boil 8 minutes, stirring often.
2. Reduce heat to low, cover with a lid and simmer for 30 minutes mixing occasionally. The mixture should darken in color and veggies should be very soft.
3. Serve warm or cold. Keep refrigerated.

Pretty simple recipe, right? I can't remember the last time I made a recipe with only three steps! (Although, I did make pumpkin spice overnight oats recently, and that was pretty much just two steps of mixing everything together and refrigerating it overnight.)

I didn't have regular white rice; I had instant rice, and I wasn't sure if that would work for this recipe, since it simmers for a while. Instead I used a brown and wild rice mixture. I am not sure if it's because this rice mixture is pretty old (does rice go stale?), or if it needs more liquid to cook properly, but it was really crunchy. In the end, I think this dish tasted fine (despite the crunchy texture), but I wouldn't consider it a meal on its own. I ended up pouring it over tortellini and adding red pasta sauce, and that tasted pretty good. I'm not sure I would bother making this recipe again, but it was worth a try, and it helped me use one of my eggplants!