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Eggplant Bolognese

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Bobby Flay’s eggplant bolognese recipe is amazing! I saw him prepare it on tv and it looked delicious, so it was the first recipe I made from his new Bobby at Home cookbook in stores now. Thanks to Clarkson Potter for sending me a copy and partnering with me for a giveaway!

With 165+ recipes, Bobby Flay opens up his home and shares his bold, approachable style of cooking for family and friends, along with his no-nonsense, essential advice for home cooks.

I always appreciate a chef who makes approachable recipes and Bobby Flay does that so well. His new Bobby at Home cookbook includes everyday favorites–from pan-seared meats and hearty pastas to shareable platters of roasted veggies, bountiful salads, and casual, homey desserts.

Bobby’s recipes will help you bring exciting new flavors to your home-cooked meals.

Bobby at Home Cookbook

EGGPLANT BOLOGNESE

To make the eggplant bolognese, you’ll start by peeling half the skin from the eggplant, slicing it into rounds and then dicing it. Don’t worry about removing the seeds.

peeled eggplant, carrots, celery, onions and garlic
peeled eggplant rounds
diced eggplant

Saute the eggplant briefly, then transfer to a cookie sheet to bake in the oven. It’ll finish cooking and become very soft.

baked eggplant on cookie sheet

Make the sauce by sauteeing carrots, onions, celery, garlic and chile flakes. Add a dry red wine and reduce completely. Then add whole tomatoes and cook the sauce on the stove until it all breaks down.

Stir in the eggplant and spices and you’re ready to eat!

carrots, celery, onions, garlic, wine and chiles in saucepan
whole plum tomatoes in saucepan
cooked down tomatoes in pot
add eggplant and spices to cooked bolognese sauce

Serve over hot, cooked pasta (I used rigatoni) and enjoy!

Print

Eggplant Bolognese by Bobby Flay

This meaty but meatless dish will please vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike!

Servings 6 servings
Calories 275 kcal
Author Liz

Ingredients

  • 6 baby eggplants or 1 large globe eggplant
  • ½ cup olive oil
  • pinch Kosher salt
  • pinch freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 large Spanish onion finely diced
  • 2 medium carrots finely diced
  • 1 small celery stalk finely diced
  • 4 garlic cloves finely chopped to a paste with the side of a chef’s knife and ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  • ¼ to ½ teaspoon Calabrian chile flakes depending on how spicy you like it
  • 1 cup dry red wine
  • 2 28 ounce cans plum tomatoes, with their juices
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • ¼ cup chopped fresh basil leaves
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh oregano

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
  2. Peel half the skin from the eggplants in 1-inch sections (so the eggplant looks striped). Slice each eggplant crosswise into ½-inch-thick rounds and cut each round into ½-inch dice.
  3. Heat 3 tablespoons of the oil in a large sauté pan over high heat until it begins to shimmer. Add half the eggplant, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring continuously, until the eggplant takes on some color and becomes soft, about 5 minutes. Spread the eggplant on a baking sheet in an even layer. Add 3 tablespoons of the oil to the pan and repeat with the remaining eggplant.
  4. Transfer the eggplant to the oven and bake until very soft, turning once, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool.
  5. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a Dutch oven over high heat. Add the onion, carrots, and celery and cook, stirring often, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the chile flakes and cook for 30 seconds more.
  6. Stir in the wine and bring to a boil. Cook until the liquid has completely reduced, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes with their juices and the sugar and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and cook until the tomatoes begin to soften and break down, about 15 minutes. Using a potato masher, coarsely mash the tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has thickened, about 20 minutes more.
  7. Fold the eggplant, basil, and oregano into the sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Use immediately, or let cool to room temperature, transfer to an airtight container, and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month..

Recipe Notes

Reprinted from Bobby At Home. Copyright © 2019 by Boy Meets Grill, Inc. Photographs copyright © 2019 by Ed Anderson. Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of Penguin Random House, LLC.

Nutrition Facts
Eggplant Bolognese by Bobby Flay
Amount Per Serving (1 serving)
Calories 275 Calories from Fat 171
% Daily Value*
Fat 19g29%
Saturated Fat 3g19%
Sodium 23mg1%
Potassium 638mg18%
Carbohydrates 21g7%
Fiber 8g33%
Sugar 11g12%
Protein 3g6%
Vitamin A 3555IU71%
Vitamin C 8mg10%
Calcium 63mg6%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Try Bobby’s kale salad with onions and chickpeas too!

Mustard-Marinated Kale Salad with caramelized onion and spicy chickpeas

About Liz

Liz is a midwestern mom gone southern (accent in transition). She lives in North Carolina and loves cooking, baking, traveling, movies, crafts, hot and cold tea, wine, pizza and the occasional nap. She also revels in the fact she's a crazy cat lady.

Comments

  13. Vicki D. says

    My favorite recipe is spicy meatballs. I love to make meatball subs with them. I make the meatballs and put Pepper Jack cheese slices on it. The sauce for the meatballs is tomato sauce and diced tomatoes with chilis. The bread is any Italian or sub buns. I put these in the toaster oven and allow the cheese to melt and the bread to brown. My family loves this recipe!

    Reply

  16. Helen says

    I love my mother in law’s microwave spaghetti sauce. I tried to make it on the stove top, and it is not the same. It tastes so much better cooking it in the microwave for some reason.

    Reply

  17. Leah Shumack says

    Chili is my favorite personal recipe – mostly because the basics stay the same but we can change it up so much every time! Sometimes it’s really hot. Sometimes we add mushrooms or green beans. You really cannot go wrong!

    Reply

  19. Leslie P. says

    My favorite recipe is a savory Mediterranean dish, Turkish Eggs. I wasn’t sure I’d like it when I first discovered it but now it’s my favorite thing to make for a quick summer dinner.

    Reply

  25. Tina W says

    My all-time favorite food is my mom’s barbecued chicken. She was from Kansas City so her sauce is kind of sweet but still very tangy. I keep a backup stash of the sauce in the freezer.

    Reply

  26. YVONNE WOODSTOCK says

    It’s SO hard to pick a favorite recipe because it depends if its a dinner or dessert or such and what my mood/taste is at the moment and what the occasion is for because I tend to especially love seasonally flavored dishes. My family goes crazy over my lasagna and I like it too. But MY OWN personal favorite is one where I saute cut up pieces of boneless chicken breast with sweet vidalia onions sliced and granny smith apples, sliced up and seasonings and heavy whipping cream and white cooking wine ETC and then at the end I add a bunch of grated swiss cheese and before serving brown the top so the cheese gets golden brown and bubbly in the broiler. I LOVE that dinner it has SO much flavor.

    Reply

  28. Timothy Anderson Jr says

    Mushroom beer steak. Steak simmers in beer, onions, garlic, beef broth, worcestershire sauce and bay leaf for an hour. Then remove add mushrooms and make a gravy. It’s awesoma anf amaingly tender

    Reply

  37. Missy says

    It’s hard to chose one, but right now because it’s cold I have been making a lot of chicken noodle soup in my instapot.

    Reply

  40. Michele Pineda says

    my personal favorite recipe is actually a dessert called Banana Split Cake, I make it from time to time for parties and special occasions.

    Reply

  44. Stephanie says

    I came across a recipe for Stuffed Pepper Soup in the past year and I just love it. If’s perfect for this time of year, basically a soup version of Italian stuffed peppers.

    Reply

  53. Melissa Smith says

    Honestly, I don’t have a favorite recipe, but I do have a favorite for each season. This time of year I love to make my moms lasagna.

    Reply

  60. Heather Kelly says

    I while back I found a recipe for Italian Chicken. I made it, and fell in love with it! Now I make it more than once a month if I can, and my girls love it too!

    Reply

  65. Thomas Gibson says

    My grandmother passed down a family recipe that we love. It is a “3 meat” meatloaf that is quite distinct from any other meatloaf I have ever had. Very tasty too.

    Reply

  66. Debbie Erickson says

    I am not sure I have a favorite recipe – I just love to cook and luckily have a large family! Lasagne is a frequent request though!

    Reply

  69. Alissa A Apel says

    I just made stuffed shells last night. Everyone loved it. I’m shocked because they don’t typically like pasta dishes. I did 1 thing of ricotta cheese, 8 ounces Mozzarella, lots of parsley, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and Italian Sausage, and sauce.

    Reply

    • Elizabeth Moore says

      My favorite recipe is a spicy Italian red sauce. I watched a chef make it on food network something like 19 years ago. I don’t even remember who the chef was or the actual name of the recipe lol I was a teenager just learning to cook. It’s always been my daughter’s favorite though!

      Reply

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