Braised eggplant

An easy weeknight dinner with fresh produce.

Eggplants look so beautiful raw and like such ugly mush when cooked! It’s a good thing they taste good. Here, I made a quick cucumber and tomato salad with a grilled chicken thigh. I marinated the chicken in oil, salt, Sriracha, apple cider vinegar, honey and fish sauce.

I braised the eggplant in some left over white wine I had. Braising is pretty easy. I start with a little oil and high heat to get a sear on both sides of the eggplant. When there’s some scorch marks (caramelized, not burned), I turn down the heat and add enough liquid to cover the pan’s bottom, plus a little extra. I flavored the eggplant in this braise with cumin, garlic, salt and pepper.