Grilled Eggplant and Pepper Bruschetta Recipe

How to make it

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• Get the grill ready. Low, even heat is perfoect for the eggplant.
• Bell peppers are best cooked over a little higher heat, grill the peppers first, then move on to the eggplant.
• Wash the peppers and eggplant. Core the peppers, remove the seeds and membrane, and cut into 4-6 large pieces.
• Peel the eggplant, cut off and discard a one-inch slice from the top and bottom, then slice the eggplant into circles, roughly 1 inch thick.
• Place the pepper and eggplant pieces on a baking sheet. Peel and crush up the galic cloves, mixing them with the olive oil.
• Drizzle or brush the oil onto both sides of the eggplant and the non-skin side of the peppers.
• Grill the peppers for 3-5 minutes per side, and then do the same for the eggplant. It is fine for the skin side of the peppers to blacken and blister, as that makes it easier to remove the skin. Eggplants can be a bit tricky, they go from undercooked to very soft quickly, and they can burn if the coals are too hot.Since they'll be mashed up anyway, how they look coming off the grill isn't important, they just need to be fully cooked.
• Remove from the grill and let cool.
• While cooling, dice the tomato, chop the basil and peel and mince the red onion.
• Place in a large bowl with the mozzarella cheese, drizzle with basalmic vinegar, add 1 teasp. of salt, black pepper and chipotle pepper.
• Cut up the eggplant into small pieces or mash it if it got really soft on the grill, and add to the bowl.
• Peel the skins, at least mostly, off the peppers, using a paring knife. It should be quite easy if the skins blackened during the grilling, running water helps get the skins off if not.
• Mince the peppers, add to the bowl, toss, taste, and adjust seasonings as necessary. Sometimes a bit more olive oil or vinegar and extra salt are nice.
• Serve with dense, crusty French bread to soak up the taste juices.
• NOTES: Roasting bell peppers
• Place a ripe pepper right on the stove top burner over medium-high heat. The pepper will start to blacken after about 1 1/2 minutes. Using tongs, turn the pepper, a quarter at a time, giving each side time to blacken. after all four sides have been done, look a the pepper and time it over the flame so any nonblistered surfaces get a chance to blacken. The whole job should take about 7 ot 8 minutes, and you can do 4 at a time (one on each burner) and save the rest. An electric stove can be used, but the pepper has to be watched more closely so it doesn't get completely burned. After the pepper is fully blackened, remove the from the burner and wrpa tightly in plastic wrap. Let steam for 15 minutes. Unwrap the pepper and run under cool water, the skin should come right off, exposing the brilliantly red pepper flesh (peel or pare off any stubborn bits). Core and remove seeds and veins, then mince the flesh into small bits. This is where you will see how remarkably changed the pepper is-from raw, strong-tasting, acidic and crispy, to meaty, velvety and smoky. This traditionally called pimento, and it will add a wonderful dimension to this dish and many others without an overpowering bell pepper flavor.