EGGPLANT RECIPE ROUND-UP AND SANDWICH SMACKDOWN UPDATE

Here at the Intuitive Eggplant kitchen, we aim to please. This post will be neither as celebrity-studded nor as fashion-filled as Big Shamu's close encounters of the Michelle Bernstein kind in answer to a question from Moi. But I recently received a plea from Grumpy Granny for recipes to use the abundance of eggplant ripening in her garden - preferably without tomatoes.

So I went through my bulging files of saved recipe links and shared them in the comments to Grumpy Granny's own post.

Then I thought to myself, GG may not be the only reader looking for new and different recipes to use - or use up - eggplant this season. So I offer you here links to some eggplant recipes I've collected over the years - both with and without tomatoes - in case you find yourself in a rut and in need of new inspiration. We've got Thai, Indian, Lebanese, Moroccan, Greek, Turkish, not just Italian (a rut I tend to fall into). We've got wraps, roulades, salads, grain-based dishes, and pizza. We've even got a recipe for eggplant pickles (I'm all about the pickles)!

I share these with you with a few caveats. 1) Sadly, I have not actually ever made any of these recipes myself. 2) If you try any of them, please come back (via comment or email) and let me know what you thought of them or how you tweaked them. 3) I believe a few people have stumbled upon my humble blog thinking it is solely focused on eggplant recipes - not so. Someday I may post about how I came to have this screen name. Until then, on to the recipes!

Best Eggplants Ever – That's the title the Food Network gave this Madhur Jaffrey recipe with a tomato-chickpea sauce with yogurt and Indian spices.

Grilled Eggplant with Garlic Sauce and Mint – Bobby Flay goes a little Asian with this one.

Grilled Eggplant Wraps with Lemon Aioli, Feta, and Mint – The title of this Sara Moulton recipe pretty much says it all.

Herbed Broiled Eggplant with Capers and Olives – The eggplant in this Batali recipe gets an interesting stuffing treatment.

Shlada De-al Bedenjan – The lemons and spices in this Moroccan salad intrigue me.

Grilled Eggplant and Goat Cheese Salad – Personally, I’m a sucker for anything with goat cheese and pine nuts.

Pasta Shells with Roasted Vegetables – The artichoke hearts and roasted red peppers in this one, plus balsamic, Dijon, and fresh herbs, piqued my interest and could probably be adapted any number of ways.

Nonna's Pickled Eggplant – Need I say more?!!!!

Stuffed Eggplant with Sun-Dried Tomatoes – From Courtney at Epi-Ventures, a local blogger who cooks in, dines out, is going to culinary school, is (or soon will be) working in the kitchen at one of my favorite restaurants, and unfailingly delivers beautifully written and photographed posts that inspire me.

Spicy Grilled Eggplant with Red Pepper and Parsley – From blogger Kaylin of Kaylin’s Kitchen – her post also includes links to a bunch more eggplant recipes!

And this up just today from Joanne at Eats Well With Others, a witty and culinarily fascinating blog I’ve recently discovered: Sultan's Delight or Hunkar Begendi or Turkish Beef Stew with Eggplant Puree.

Then there's the wealth of inspiration you can find at Smitten Kitchen, one of my go-to sources for veggie-based recipes that appeal to my personal taste. Deb’s blog also features great writing, photos, and search capability, and she credits and links back to the original sources she adapts from. Here are a few of her eggplant offerings.

Mediterranean Eggplant and Barley Salad – Oooh, with barley!

Lebanese Stuffed Eggplant – Another interesting middle eastern dish.

Grilled Eggplant and Olive Pizza – Oh, yeah, pizza.

Thai Smoky eggplant salad with chiles, lime, avocado and tomato. Deb's post about it here. 

Or if you're an intuitive cook who gets your inspiration from great photos (but infrequent recipe posts - lol), you can check out this kicked-up Eggplant Parmesan from DoggyBloggy at Chez What?

As last month's winner, DoggyBloggy is also hosting the August Culinary Smackdown: Battle Sandwich. The Smackdown is a friendly little cooking/blogging contest where the victor usually takes only bragging rights and the opportunity to post this badge on their blog.

But DoggyBloggy has upped the incentive this month by offering a $100 CSN gift certificate to this month's Smackdown winner!

So get your sandwich ideas together and throw in for this throwdown. Or send me your favorite corn recipes, because I received a delightfully unexpected package today.