LAOTIAN EGGPLANT W/TOMATOES, ONION & MINT

Last Wednesday, my husband called me to find out what I would like from the farmer's market. We are lucky that there is one held every Wednesday at RI College where he works. I told him to bring home some fruit and some eggplant.

Dan tends to overbuy, and above is the amount of eggplant that he brought home. He got them from our friend Michelle who owns
Zephyr Farms

These are long, small eggplants, and the skin is not so tough, they are very good for stir fry types of dishes.

Most stir fry recipes I have do not have eggplant as their main ingredient, so I went into my Vegetarian Times magazines to find something with a LOT of eggplant. In the July/August 2009 I found "Laotian Eggplant with Tomatoes, Onion and Mint". I had some tomatoes from Morris Farms, and some onions from the Pawtuxet Farmer's Market, so I was all set. The mint came from my back yard.

Yes, I know the kids will think it is yucky, but I quite liked it.


LAOTIAN EGGPLANT WITH TOMATOES, ONION AND MINT
1 Tbsp. organic canola or coconut oil
1 lb. Japanese eggplant, trimmed and diced, 3 cups (see photo)
1 med. red onion, thinly sliced
2 med. tomatoes, chopped 2 cups
2 Tbsp. local honey
2 Tbsp. organic soy sauce
2 tsp. lime juice (organic if you can get them)
1-1/2 tsp. chile-garlic sauce, (see my photo)
3 cups bean sprouts
1/3 cup of snow peas, cut in half the short way
1/3 cup chopped fresh mint



Above is how you should cut the onions. Easiest way to do this is to peel the onion, cut it in half from stem to tip, lay the flat side on the cutting board, and just make thin cuts across.


The eggplant all diced up & ready to go.


The chile garlic sauce

Heat oil in wok, or large skillet over med-high heat. Add eggplant & onion; stir-fry 10 min. Stir in tomatoes, honey, soy sauce, lime juice and chile-garlic sauce. Cook 3 minutes more. Add bean sprouts and snow peas; stir-fry 2 minutes. Garnish with mint.



Doesn't this look good?