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Get the grill going.
Low even heat is perfect for the eggplant. The bell peppers are best cooked
over a little higher heat, so we usually grill those first, then move
on to the eggplant. Wash peppers and eggplant. Core the peppers, remove
seeds and membrane, and cut into 4-6 large pieces. Peel eggplant, cut
off and discard a one inch slice from the top and bottom, then slice eggplant
into circles roughly one inch thick. Place pepper and eggplant pieces
on baking sheet. Peel and crush up the garlic cloves, mixing them with
the olive oil. Drizzle or brush the oil onto both sides ot the eggplant
and the non-skin side of the peppers. Grill the peppers for 3-5 minutes
per side, then do the same for the eggplant. It is fine for the skin side
of the peppers to blacken and blister, as that makes it easier to remove
the skin. Eggplants can be a bit tricky, they go from undercooked to very
soft pretty quickly, and they can burn if the coals are too hot. Since
they'll be mashed up anyway, how they look coming off the grill isn't
important. Remove from the grill and let cool. While cooling, dice the
tomato and Basil and peel and mince the red onion. Place in a large bowl
with the mozzarella cheese, drizzle with balsamic vinegar, add 1 tsp.
salt, BLACK PEPPER and ALEPPO PEPPER. Cut up the eggplant into small pieces
- or mash it if it got really soft onthe grill, add to the bowl. Peel
the skins at least mostly off the peppers using a paring knife. It should
be quite easy if the skins blackened during the grilling, running water
helps get the skins off if not. Mince the peppers, add to the bowl, toss,
taste, adjust seasoning as necessary. Sometimes a bit more olive oil or
vinegar and extra salt is nice. Serve with dense crusty french bread to
soak up the tasty juices.
Yields: about 8 Cups bruschetta
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes or so
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