Eggplant crumble with parmesan cheese and pine nuts

Shopping basket:

- 2 long eggplants

- 4 tomatoes

- 4 large basil leaves

- 1 stick of butter

- 1 cup parmesan freshly grated parmesan cheese

- 3.5 oz. flour

- 2 oz. pine nuts

- 4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

- 3 tablespoons virgin olive oil

- Salt and Pepper

How to make a fabulous crumble....

1. Preheat the oven to 350 Fahrenheit. Cut the eggplants in half and cover with a filet of olive oil. Place in oven tray and let bake for 30 min.

2. In the meantime prepare the parmesan and pine nut crumble:

- Roast the pine nuts in a pan using a filet of olive oil

- Put the pine nuts in a large mixing bowl and add the flour, butter and parmesan in order to form a crumble. The crumble should be slightly "buttery". Do not be tempted to add more flour...

3. Cut the tomatoes in quarters and take out the juice and the seeds. Cut what is left of the tomatoes into small cubes. Take the egglplants out of the oven and very gently put aside the interior of the eggplant with the help of a spoon and cut it into thin pieces. Be careful not to tear the eggplants when taking out the inside. Add the eggplants to the tomatoes and mix into bowl with four tablespoons of balsamic vinegar. Add the chopped basil leaves.

Pause: Let's pause for a minute as this can be tricky...

You should have on the one hand a buttery looking crumble and on the other hand a vegetarian mix with the diced tomatoes, eggplants and basil leaves.

4. Place the tomato and eggplant mix into the emptied eggplants so as to fill them up completely.

5. Place the crumble mix over the eggplants so as to completely cover them. Place in oven for 30 min.

Enjoy!!!

Tips

I have been making this crumble a couple of times - I think it is my favorite recipe - and this time I replaced the traditional balsamic vinegar by a pomegranate balsamic vinegar that I purchased at The Bountiful Basket, a great wine tasting boutique in Carmel by the Sea, California. It's definetely worth a try!

I also replaced traditional grape tomatoes by red Heirloom tomatoes from Ralphs and it added another dimension to the overall taste.