Foodie Blogroll

Friday, June 11, 2010

White Eggplant and New potatoes with Bo's Fig Balsamic Sauce


After I got many comments about the photos of the white eggplant, I had to try some. Apparently the eggplant got it's name because in the 18th century it only came in white, was a little smaller and it resembled goose eggs while hanging on the plant. The skin is a little tougher and should be peeled. The flesh is white, not greenish like the purple ones. I had a hard time seeing where I had already peeled it. It was a little firmer and I heard it was sweeter than the purple, I skipped the sweating part. It seems to have less seed too.

I used it in a couple of recipes, here is one that was easy enough to throw in the oven and finish the rest of the meal. I used a recipe from my Blogger friend Bo from Bo's Bowl . He made two recipes using fig jam, a vinaigrette for salad dressing and a fig balsamic pan sauce for pork medallions. I have some fig jam that I wanted to use and told him I was thrilled that he had these recipes. I used the one for the pan sauce but changed it slightly because I was tossing it over the vegetables and baking it.
Ingredients:
3 cloves of garlic smashed and sliced
1 tbs fresh rosemary, chopped
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup fig preserves
1/4 cup walnut oil (you can use olive oil)
salt & pepper (once it's on the pan)
If I had some walnuts I would of tossed them in too.
Whisk it all together in a large bowl and toss in the cubed eggplant and potato wedges. Toss together until everything is evenly coated. Spread out on a baking pan, then salt and pepper. Of course I'm using my stoneware bar pan again, it's perfect for roasting veggies.
Bake in a 350 F oven for 45-50 minutes until potatoes are tender and the desired crispness on the potatoes. I'm not sure I really timed it, I just see how they look in the oven, if they are tender and browned up the way I like it then they are done. Take them out part way and turn them to get browned on both sides. At this point I threw in a little bit of spinach, I liked how that crisped up too. (I added fresh too for the bowl)

It was so good, with the balsamic and fig jam caramelized slightly, yum! I also made a couple of skewers of eggplant to put on the grill with the meat. We didn't care for that as well, I think it needed to marinate longer for grilling.
Make sure you check out Bo's Bowl for the original recipe that he used over pork, and his mixed baby greens with goat cheese, bacon, with fig balsamic vinaigrette. He has a lot of great recipes, and shows you how to make them!
Happy Friday!!

30 comments:

  1. This looks fabulous Lyndsey! Wonderful pictures too.
    I'll have to try this soon!
    Cheers~

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  2. Hmm...mm...this recipe sounds terrific! No doubt, it's a good try. Do you mind I join in? ^_^ Hope you're having a great day.
    Regards, Kristy

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  3. Roasted sounds fabulous, looks it too. Diane

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  4. I love eggplants, and that glaze sounds simply amazing!
    Have a fabulous weekend.
    *kisses* HH

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  5. White eggplant....never seen them!
    Nice your rosted vegetables recipe!!

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  6. I bet that sauce would be fantastic on sweet potatoes. I am going to try it next time I make some. I love fig, so I usually have a jar on hand. I found the most awesome fig and walnut butter at our farmer's market recently. I need to go buy more of that, the jar is almost empty. YUM!

    Thanks for sharing the recipe!

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  7. I highly believe that caramelization is definitely our secret weapon in the kitchen ;o)
    I still have not tried white eggplants. I have to make it a point to scout around.
    The addition of figs and balsamic adds quite the interesting aspect to your dish. Very nice. Thanks for the lovely idea.
    Flavourful wishes, Claudia

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  8. This looks really delicious with the fig jam! Roasting brings out the best in vegetables!

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  9. That is a perfect combination! I really love that touch of balsamic vinegar!

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  10. I am a big fan of eggplant! Looks and sounds delish! :)

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  11. The balsamic and fig jam sounds like a fabulous combination. I'm fairly new to eggplant but I'd definitely give this a try!

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  12. I love these white eggaplants look beauty and nice.
    We dont have them here, are lovely.
    This recipe is nice Lyndsey! gloria

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  13. Rebecca, and Catherine- thank you :D

    Kristy - You are welcome to join me any time :D

    Diane - Thanks again!

    HH - Thanks you too!

    Rachana Kothari - Thanks for your comment!

    Elle - apparently a lot of people haven't seen them before either!


    Michelle - Fig and walnut butter sound awesome. Let me know how it tastes on sweet potatoes.

    Claudia - that was nice of you to say, thanks. I do like things caramelized! Hope you get a chance to try it, let me know!

    Cinnamon Girl - I've been into roasting things lately, even now in this heat! Yum! You are right!

    Rosa, Thanks nice of you to say!

    Susan - thank you, I was just thinking how good this would be in a bento :D

    Mags - Thanks, you should!

    Gloria, thank you, I just recently found them here at our farmer's market.

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  14. Great way to use that sauce. I'll have to try it your way!

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  15. Thanks lyndsey....I wish I could send one breadfruit...White eggplants are rare to see...tempting dish...looks yummy!!!!!

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  16. The fig balsamic sauce sounds awesome!

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  17. YUM, Lyndsey! I've seen the white eggplant and have been wondering. Glad to hear you really liked it.
    I often just toss diced eggplant with olive oil, salt and pepper and roast. So I'm loving your idea of adding potatoes. And I bet the balsamic helps everything caramelize.
    This looks really fabulous.

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  18. Can be made within time...sounds like a must try dear.

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  19. Looks like a very delicious dish...those white eggplants look gorgeous!

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  20. Délicieux.
    Je n'ai encore jamais cuisiné les aubergines blanches.
    Il va falloir que j'en cherche.
    La touche de balsamique doit donner beaucoup de goût.
    A bientôt.

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  21. They look delicious! I've never had fig preserves. I'll have to check them out, thanks!

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  22. I love eggplant but have never tried the white. They look great! Your combo of ingredients sounds excellent, a must try!

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  23. This looks and sounds delicious! I love the idea of bringing the flavor of figs into the mix.

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  24. I don't think I have ever tried a white eggplant.

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  25. Great use of the white eggplant. Very creative and interesting dish. A++

    Cheers!

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  26. For some odd reason I've never tried the white eggplant. This recipe sounds delicious. I'm definitely going to give it a try!
    Hope you are enjoying your summer break. I still have 2 weeks on 10 hour workdays to go, ack!

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  27. Bo - thanks for the recipe!

    Vidhya - that would be great...breadfruit for a white eggplant! :D

    pigpigscorner - thanks!

    Barbara - thank you, I have done eggplant like you do as well. Thought I would try something different to post about it. I would buy the white eggplant again. They were actually cheaper than the purple.

    Jay - hope you get to try it.

    Jeannie - thank you!

    Nadji - The balsamic worked well with it.

    Debbi - hope you can find some!

    Pam - thanks to you bloggers I tried this, hope you get a chance to.

    tasteofbeirut - yes, Bo had a great idea with using figs. I have been enjoying balsamic on my potatoes....the two worked well!

    tigerfish - it was my first time.

    Lazaro - thank you, that means a lot to me.

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