My posts have been fewer as I have been on vacation, but to be honest, I probably would have been online more often if I had better internet access. But I do not- which might be a good thing actually when you are on vacation…. Although I admit I do post on my instagram profile whenever I get a signal on my phone.
Now many times vacations are associated with plenty of food or eating out all the time, but for us, this year we are staying in a coastal town in Peloponnesus where I spent many summers when I was a child. The place is a pretty town, with a long child-friendly beach and several restaurants with the typical Greek summer foods and plenty of fresh fish.
But for me, being in a place that I spent so many summers brings back different memories: memories of hours on the beach where food was simple, local and just enough. So for the most part we ate large tomato and cucumber salads with plenty of olive oil, bread and cheese, fried eggs or omelets, large slices of watermelon and peaches and of course the simple lathera plates made with seasonal vegetables such as okra, green beans, zucchini and eggplant. Occasionally we would have a souvlaki and fish but for the most part our diet was made up of these simple dishes. Our mothers didn’t want to spend too much time in a kitchen in the hot summers and with all that heat we were not really hungry, so it made sense to eat light dishes.
So here I am after all those years doing something similar with my kids. We eat salads, fruit, omelets from farm fresh eggs my cousin send us, and lathera with whatever vegetable we find at the local markets. One of these recipes which literally took about 10-15 minutes was this simple eggplant recipe. I remember an aunt whipping this up for me in no time, when I showed up at her house one day for lunch unannounced. She had not cooked lunch that day and made this, I was amazed at how quickly and effortlessly she cooked this dish. I didn’t  write it down, but the main points I remember.
With just a few eggplants, tomato sauce and olive oil I too quickly cooked this dish, as I didn’t want to spend time making the sauce I used canned tomato sauce with onion and a touch garlic powder because I forgot to buy garlic, and the result was yummy. We ate for it lunch with feta and bread to soak up the sauce.
*Please excuse the photo, yes it’s from my phone.
Quick and Easy Eggplant in Tomato Sauce
INGREDIENTS
- 4 small eggplant or two large ones
- 14 ounces tomato sauce with onion or 2-3 large tomatoes with half onion chopped
- Olive oil
- Garlic Powder
DIRECTIONS
1. Wash the eggplants and cut in thin slices (about ¼ to ½ inch thick)
2. In a pan heat some olive oil enough to cover eggplant slices halfway.
3. Sauté eggplant slices for about 1-2 minutes each side.
4. Add the tomato sauce and about ½ cup warm (or hot) water.
5. Sprinkle with some garlic powder, salt and pepper and bring to boil.
6. Lower heat and let it simmer adding more water as needed until eggplant is soft (about6-10 minutes).
7. Serve with feta and bread.
Not sure I will use the amount of oil next time. My eggplants slices absorbed it on one side so added more and by the end of cooking time I had to remove a lot of the oil with a spoon there was too much. Otherwise delicious.
I am Greek also but not a good cook so I am always looking for the simplest Greek meals. Thank you for reminding me how to make this easy one that is SO delicious with feta and fresh bread. Side note, after vacationing in Greece several times, my 13 year old now refuses to eat Greek salad in the USA because he says the Greek tomatoes and cucumbers taste so much better! We literally have Greek salad every night for 3 weeks while we are there. He does have a point!
I am Greek and enjoy cooking and baking. My family is spoiled, of course, and so are my American friends. Amazing dish and one of my favorites! Thanks for sharing!
Fabulous recipe and great blog. I am an RD in NY and Greek by decent. Vacationing in Peloponesos, near Monemvasia every summer are some of my fondest memories. Going to the beach, snacking on figs and eating my fair share of tomata salata, what a life! Thank you for sharing these dishes and enjoy our beautiful region.
Thank you Sotiria!
Tomato based dishes are a favourite of mine – soaking the juices up in bread sounds perfect!
Yes! Bread is so necessary!
Simple dishes are the best and most delicious:) I’ve just return from vacation in Tuscany, where I was also eating very simple dishes like panzanella (tomato salad with bread), vegetable soup or pasta with green bean and pesto. And I was also doing photos on my mobile phone:)
Panzanella! Yum!