A healthy and delicious appetizer, which can also be served as a side dish. Goes great alongside rice, beef or chicken.
Why is it good for pregnancy diet?
The two main ingredients in this delightful dish are eggplant and sweet pepper – two highly recommended foods for diet when pregnant.
The eggplant is fruit (that’s right, eggplants are fruits and not vegetables!) with low rate of fat, and a variety of vitamins, such as folic acid, Vitamin B1, niacin, C and many minerals including calcium, magnesium and potassium. In addition to featuring a host of vitamins and minerals, eggplant also contains important phytonutrients, many which have antioxidant activity. Phytonutrients contained in eggplant include phenolic compounds, such caffeic and chlorogenic acid, and flavonoids. Benefits attributed to chlorogenic acid include antimutagenic (anti-cancer), antimicrobial, anti-LDL (bad cholesterol) and antiviral activities.
The other main ingredient of this dish, the sweet pepper, is also a great source for many important nutritious ingredients – it is rich with A and C vitamins, as well as antioxidants.
It is important to note that some of the nutritious ingredients in the raw eggplant and pepper will not remain in the completed dish, since it is baked. Still, there are plenty of healthy nutritious ingredients which will remain in it, which makes it is a refreshing and delicious treat…!
About 370 calories in total (92 per serve)
Ingredients
Ingredients for 4 servings:
1 eggplant
1 red pepper
1 yellow pepper
2 spoons of olive oil
Salt
Dry rosemary
Preparation
- Cut the eggplant into slices. If it is big, you can cut every cut every slice in its middle.
- To make the eggplant taste better, place the eggplant slices in a dish, and spread some salt on them. Let it lay, and after about 30 minutes you will find that the slices have been “sweating” eggplant fluids. Wipe the fluids, and now it will be less bitter and more tasteful.
- While the eggplants are “sweating”, pre-heat the oven to about 480 degrees (250 Celsius). Wash the peppers and cut each of them to 4-5 slices. Place the slices on a baking dish with aluminum foil on it, with the pill facing up. Brush the peppers with some olive oil, spread on them some salt and rosemary, then put the dish in the oven for about 30 minutes – until they turn slightly golden.
- After the pepper slices are ready take them out of the oven and place them in a dish, side by side (rather than piled up).
- Place the eggplant slices on the baking dish, and like the peppers brush them with olive oil and spread some slat and rosemary on them. Put the baking dish inside the oven, and let it bake until the eggplant slices will be slightly burnt outside and soft inside (20-30 minutes).
- Once ready, take out the baking dish out of the oven, and put the eggplant slices next to the pepper.
Bon appetite!
