Graffiti Eggplant Sofrito Is A Perfect Side Dish For Everything
My wife and I are always looking for good side dishes to serve with our main dishes. This eggplant sofrito recipe comes from a delicious meal we received from Blue Apron, a new concept in grocery delivery where you receive complete meals with fresh ingredients and easy to follow recipes.
The eggplant sofrito was served with pan fried tilapia and peppers.
What is Sofrito?
Sofrito is a seasoning sauce used as a base in many countries' cuisines. Depending on where you live, the combination of ingredients will vary.
You'll usually find onion, garlic and tomatoes but can also find peppers, cilantro, paprika, celery and a host of other ingredients like eggplant. The ingredients are diced and sauteed in oil.
What About This Graffiti Eggplant?
This is the first time I've cooked with graffiti eggplant so it is new to me. It goes by many names including Pandora Striped Rose, Edirne Purple Striped and Fairytale eggplant.
It is typically small and teardrope shapped with vivid strips of violet and ivory white coloring. It grows as small as 3 inches in length to as large as 8 inches.
Because of its size, graffiti eggplant cooks fast so it is perfect for recipes you are going to grill, saute or pan fry. Goes well with tomato, onions, garlic as well as spices including cumin turmeric and ginger.
📖 Recipe
Eggplant Sofrito Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 yellow onions
- 6 cloves garlic
- salt & pepper to taste
- 2 graffiti eggplants substitute 2 small eggplants
- 2 tomatoes
- 1 lemon
- 1 cup water
- 1 bunch fresh mint
Instructions
- Prep the Ingredients
- Peel the onions and eggplants and dice both into small pieces. Peel and mince the garlic. Medium dice the tomatoes.
- Remove the peel from the lemon and finely mince the peel to make lemon zest. You only need 4 teaspoons of zest for this recipe but you can always zest the entire lemon and keep the rest for another dish. Reserve the lemon for later use.
- Pick the leaves off the mint stems. Discard the stems and roughly chop the remaining leaves.
- Prepare the Sofrito
- Heat a medium sized pan over medium heat until hot. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and when hot, add the onion and garlic. Season with salt and pepper and cook until the onion softens, about 5 minutes.
- Add the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, eggplant, tomato, lemon zest and juice from the reserved lemon. Add 1 cup of water and cook over medium-high heat for 12 minutes. Be sure to stir occasionally so the Sofrito doesn't burn in the bottom of the pan.
- Remove from heat and add the chopped mint. Taste and adjust seasonings with salt and pepper.
- Serve as a side dish with fish, chicken or beef.
Jaime
Just wondering if you use the whole peel to make the zest or only a portion?
The Reluctant Gourmet
Great question Jaime. You just need 4 teaspoons of lemon zest but I usually zest the entire lemon and save what I don't use for another dish. I'm finding a little zest does incredible things to many of my recipes.