Taste of Tuesday

The weather here has been strange lately - chilly, rainy, overcast - which is not conducive to growing tomatoes, watermelons, and other summer crops.  However, our eggplant continues to flourish despite a triple whammy during the seedling stage:  flea beetles, Colorado potato beetle larvae, and Japanese beetles.  So I'm sharing another eggplant recipe that I discovered and made last week.  It will go into our "favorites" stack:

Onion-Eggplant Soup Provençale

2 large onions, thinly sliced and separated into rings
2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
4 cups water
1 small eggplant, peeled and chopped (about 4 cups)
1 small summer squash or zucchini, thinly sliced (about 1 cup)
½ cup brown rice
1/3 cup tomato paste
¼ cup dry red wine
3 vegetable bouillon cubs
1 clove garlic, minced
1 ½ teaspoons dried basil, crushed or 1 ½ tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
½ cup orzo or other small pasta, cooked and drained
4 thin slices French or other crusty bread, lightly toasted
Olive oil
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

In a large saucepan, cook the onion in the butter or olive oil until tender but not brown. Add the water, eggplant, squash, brown rice, tomato paste, red wine, bouillon cubes, garlic, basil, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes or until vegetables are very tender and rice is done. Stir in the cooked pasta and heat through. Lightly brush each slice of bread with olive oil. To serve, ladle soup into individual bowls, place one bread slice on top of each serving, and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Bon appetit!