Preview: Red Pepper Eggplant Confit

by Dawn T in Rouxbe Recipes

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Step 1: Roasting the Peppers

Roasting the Peppers

To roast the peppers, place the oven-rack to the highest position in the oven and preheat the broiler.
The rack should be no more than 6" -inches from the broiler. Spray a baking tray with non-stick vegetable spray and set aside.

Cut the peppers in half. Remove the stems and seeds. Place the peppers on the tray cut side down and place under the broiler for about 13 to 15 minutes or until the skin is charred and bubbly. You may need to move them around under the broiler for even coloring.

Once done, place the charred peppers into a bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap for at least 15 minutes. While the peppers are steaming, move onto the next step.

  • 8 red bell peppers

Step 2: Assembling the Confit

Assembling the Confit

Move the oven rack back to the middle position and turn the oven down to 375° degrees Fahrenheit.

For easy clean-up, line your baking trays with foil or parchment and set aside.

Peel and dice the eggplant into approximately 1" -inch cubes. Transfer to a mixing bowl. Peel and smash the garlic just to break it up a bit. Add to the eggplant. Mix in the olive oil, salt, and crushed chili flakes. Toss to evenly coat.

Using a strainer, drain and crush the canned tomatoes, just to remove any excess liquid. Add the strained tomatoes to the eggplant and fold everything together. Set aside while you peel and dice the peppers.

  • 2 large black eggplants
  • 2 - 28 oz cans whole tomatoes
  • 16 garlic cloves
  • 2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • 1 tsp crushed chili flakes

Step 3: Roasting the Confit

Roasting the Confit

Once the peppers are cool enough to handle, peel off the skin and discard. Dice the peppers into approximately 1" -inch pieces. Add them to the eggplant and toss everything together.

Use your hands to lift the ingredients out onto the lined baking trays, leaving as much liquid behind as you can.

Make sure you do not overcrowd the mix, otherwise it will steam rather than roast.

Place the baking trays into the oven and roast for 50 minutes to an hour.
Stir the vegetables a few times during roasting to ensure they cook evenly. The confit is ready when the eggplant and garlic are both very soft.

Before serving the confit, let the mixture cool on the tray for at least 15 minutes.

Step 4: Making the Crostini | Optional

Making the Crostini | Optional

To start the crostini, keep the oven at 375° degrees Fahrenheit.

Cut the baguette into 1/2" -inch slices and place the pieces onto a tray lined with parchment. Brush lightly with the olive oil.

Bake oil side up for 8 to 10 minutes or until slightly golden. While the bread is cooking, peel the garlic and set aside. Once the bread is ready, lightly rub the oiled side with the raw garlic while the bread is still warm. Sprinkle with a little grey salt to taste. Serve the crostini alongside a big bowl of the red pepper confit.

For individual appetizers, spoon a tablespoon of the confit over top of each crostini then add a dollop of goat cheese or feta to finish.

  • 1 French baguette
  • 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt

Notes

If you are serving this the next day, just be sure to bring it to room temperature for the best flavor. Any leftovers are really good in panini sandwiches.

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Jade B

So worth the time!

If you enjoy cooking and taking time this is for you because the end result is so worth it. I love making the confit because it allowed me to get in there with my hands and that's my favourite part about cooking. The end result was devine everybody loved it at my dinner! I was so happy I took the time... a suggestion make the confit the night before and let it marinate in it's juices... then drain it again and re-roast it for ten minutes. The garlic really has time to lose it's acidic strong taste and the rich sweetness really exudes out.

Jurie H

Pretty easy

I made this and ran into no trouble. It's a pretty easy recipe to make.

However: 1. it took me way longer than expected, more like 4 hours or more. 2. (related) this is a lot of vegetables. It took me several ovensful to roast all the peppers, and I needed to put 2 tins in the oven at the same time to roast the vegetables at the end (which worked fine). I had 2 big bowls of vegetables, which reduced down to 1 bowl.

But it tasted great! Everyone loved it.

Dawn T
Rouxbe Staff

Great for a Crowd!

This recipe is enough for at least 8 to 10 people. I know that it does take up a bit of room in the oven, especially if you don't have a big oven. So if you like you can half the recipe, to make a smaller batch.

And yes even though it is easy, it does take a bit of time. For me it usually takes 2 hours start to finish. But I am not working that whole time. In the end it's definitely worth it!

Liz S

Superb taste

I made 2 (half) batches as I put too many chili flakes in the first. Just added the second batch to the first to even out the taste. I used fresh tomatoes the second time as it was all I had on hand but did have to pour off some juice half way through cooking so canned is easier. It took less than 40 min to prepare. Make sure to keep the peppers covered the full 15 minutes as I rushed it the second time and they didn't peel as easily. Great recipe.

Ineke B

Dinner party

We had a small dinner party with friends, and we made the confit as a starter. They were flabbergasted! It tasted so good that we made it the next week again and had it for lunch. Very healthy too. We love it.

Oscar H

Escalivada

With onion will an Escalivada (Tipical Catalonian recipe). In the tradicional way, the recipe can be done easier, just put all the vegetables with skin include on the owen. Escellent video on Youtube to learn. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfmGF6uByiM

Swati B

How can this be made-ahead to take to a potluck?

This is a great reipe. I want this to be my dish for a pot-luck party. I will not be able to cook much at the venue. I think I could get the oven for a little bit to warm things up but I can't do the whole thing there.

Is there a way this recipe could be arranged so as to be able to take to a potluck?

Dawn T
Rouxbe Staff

Re: How can this be made-ahead to take to a potluck?

You could easily prepare this dish in the morning or just before you head to the potluck. Even the crostini can be made ahead of time. Hope this helps Swati.

Liz S

will freeze too

Although normally everything is better fresh, (I would still take Dawn's suggestion of making it in the morning), I have had great success freezing this recipe as well. I usually make the crostini the day before if I am going to be busy and they keep well in a tin container. I don't rub them with the garlic if I make them ahead and really don't miss it. We love this confit.

Swati B

Thanks.

Thanks Dawn and Liz for your ideas. I didn't know that crostinis still taste good when made ahead of time.

Rebecca B

New-found love for black salt

I think this recipe is fantastic. I particularly like the "meaty" texture of the roasted eggplant. My favorite element, though, was the use of the black salt on the crostini. I have black salt on hand for Indian recipes. However, I have never used it as a stand alone spice. I had no idea just how eggy/rich this salt was, until I tried this recipe. It must have some heavy sulfuric components. Still, it made an entirely vegetarian dish taste exceptionally rich.

Kudos!

Cindi L

It's a Keeper

Wow.......what a wonderful mix of flavors. Yes, it was a bit time consuming but so worth it, as Jade B wrote. Absolutely a keeper!

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