This week we've cooked up an eggplant dish that will make eggplant lovers rejoice and hopefully win over some eggplant skeptics.
In this recipe, we made eggplant steaks by cutting, scoring and roasting our St. David's eggplants spiced with Zing's Zesti seasoning. Eggplant goes so beautifully with tomatoes and fresh herbs so we paired these steaks with a bright tomato salad made with our Elmira's grape tomatoes, fresh mint, honey, garlic, and red onion, served on a bed of Lundberg Farms lemon Jasmine rice.
A perfect plant based dish that celebrates this truly unique vegetable!
Meet Our Farmers & Producers
St. David's Hydroponics
Our gorgeous eggplants used in this recipe were sourced from St. David's Hydroponics.
St. David's Hydroponics is a huge hydroponic facility, originally started by three Dutch farmers who immigrated to Canada. They exceed the Ministry of Environment's sustainability requirements and operated in a closed system greenhouse.
St. David’s prioritizes low carbon impact innovations. They use an integrated pest management system, grow plants in discarded coconut fibre, and recycle their own water. The greenhouse system is a closed system. During the summer months, that means they’re operating at a net zero carbon footprint!
Elmira's Own
Located in Elmira, Ontario, Elmira's Own's flavourful gourmet grape mixed tomatoes pair perfectly with the eggplant in this vibrant, fresh salad. These beauties are grown in a greenhouse so that we are able to enjoy farm-fresh local tomatoes year round!
August's Harvest
Our local garlic and shallots used in this recipe are from August's Harvest. August’s Harvest is now one of the largest commercial garlic growers in Ontario.
Ingredients
Hillside Gardens
The red onions used in this recipe come from Hillside Gardens in Bradford, ON. Hillside is a fourth generation family farm and processing facility that were early adopters of the Local Food Plus program and place a high value on sustainability and innovation.
Zing
Zing is a new line of pantry shortcuts designed to help you make quick, delicious meals at home, with recipes inspired from around the world to spice up your dinner planning. Their "Zesti" seasoning salt is inspired by the sweet, spicy, and floral flavours in Jamaican jerk spice and is the perfect seasoning to flavour the eggplant steaks in this recipe.
Rosewood Estates
Rosewood Estates is a family owned and operated winery and meadery located in the Niagara region. Rosewood Estates uses sustainable bee-keeping practices and integrated pest management.
Ingredients
- 2 x Medium St. David's Hydroponics eggplants
- 1 x pint Elmira's Gourmet Grape tomatoes
- 1 x clove August's Harvest garlic
- Sprig of Mike & Mike's organic fresh mint
- Juice of 2 Mike & Mike's organic lemon
- 1 x Hillside Gardens red onion
- 3 tbsp Zing's "Zesti" seasoning
- 2 tbsp Rosewood Honey
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Method
Preheat your oven to 400°F.
Take both of your medium eggplants and cut them in half lengthwise. Carefully score the eggplants using a knife by creating tiny slices in the centre of the flesh to make a criss-cross pattern. Be careful not to cut through the sides or bottom of the eggplant. Set your scored eggplants on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together your olive oil and honey until fully emulsified. Drizzle over each piece of scored eggplant and brush to cover the surface with a pastry brush so that each piece is well coated.
Sprinkle a generous amount of Zesti seasoning of each piece of eggplant. Place in the oven to cook roast for 45 minutes.
In the meantime, start your rice (or your grain of choice, this would also be excellent with quinoa) following the instructions on the package.
While your rice and eggplants are cooking, prepare your grape tomato salad. Slice each cherry tomato in half and place it in a medium sized bowl. Peel and finely mince a clove of garlic and peel and finely dice a quarter of your red onion and add them to the bowl. Take your sprig of mince and roughly chop it and add to the bowl.
Drizzle some of the remaining olive oil and honey mixture over the tomato salad, the juice of half a lemon and some salt. Set aside.
When the rice is finished cooking, remove from heat and add the juice of half a lemon, salt and some olive oil and stir to combine.
When the eggplant is done cooking, remove from the oven.
Plate Your Dish!
Start by scooping a portion of rice onto your plates. Add one of the eggplant steaks on top of the rice and drizzle with any leftover honey and oil dressing and finish with a squeeze of lemon juice. Scoop a generous helping of tomato salad over the rice and eggplant and garnish with some more fresh mint.
Enjoy!
Did You Try This Recipe?
We'd love to see your finished product! Tag us on Instagram at @themarketat100kmfoods.
