Mediterranean Eggplant Steaks and Orzo Salad with Walnuts, Oregano and Tomatoes

Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray, 2007

Show: 30 Minute MealsEpisode: Livin' on the Veg

Rated: 4 stars out of 5Rate itRead users' reviews (33)

RECIPE
COMMENTS & REVIEWS(33)

Cook Time:
20 min
Level:
Easy
Yield:
4 servings

Times:

Prep: 10 min
Inactive Prep: --
Cook: 20 min
Total:: 30 min

Recipe Tools:

Select a Card Size

Add To My Recipe Box

Success

This recipe was added to your Folder_Name folder.

Do not show this message again

Add To My Recipe Box

Please sign in to add this recipe to your Recipe Box.

Ingredients

Salt
1/2 pound orzo pasta
2 medium eggplant, cut into 8 steaks lengthwise, 1-inch thick
Extra-virgin olive oil, for grilling eggplant, plus 5 tablespoons, divided
Pepper
2 (10-ounce) boxes frozen spinach, defrosted
2 roasted red peppers, pat dry and chopped
2 or 3 cloves garlic, grated
Handful pitted olives, chopped
1 (16-ounce) tub hummus (recommended: Tribe of Two Sheiks 40 Spice)
2 cups bread crumbs
Handful fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 cup toasted and coarsely chopped walnuts
1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes
1 cup feta cheese crumbles
2 to 3 stems fresh oregano, leaves stripped from stems and finely chopped
1 lemon, zested and juiced

Directions

Heat grill pan to medium-high. Heat oven to 400 degrees F.

Place a pot of water on stove to boil for pasta. Salt water and cook orzo to al dente.

Brush the eggplant steaks lightly with extra-virgin olive oil and season liberally on both sides with salt and pepper. Grill 3 to 4 minutes for small eggplant and 4 to 6 minutes for large eggplant, turning occasionally, until the steaks begin to become tender but are not fully cooked.

While eggplant cooks, defrost spinach in microwave on defrost setting, 7 to 8 minutes. Heat 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil in a skillet and add roasted peppers and garlic. Squeeze the spinach dry and separate as you add it to the skillet. Season the spinach with salt and pepper and heat through. Stir in olives and remove from heat. Place the eggplants on baking sheets. Top each steak with a few forkfuls of spinach mixture. Spread a few rounded spoonfuls of hummus evenly across the steaks on top of the spinach, covering it completely in a thin layer. Toss the bread crumbs with 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil and parsley. Divide the bread crumbs and scatter them over the steaks on top of the hummus. Bake to brown bread crumbs, 5 minutes or so.

Toast walnuts while you cut up the tomatoes and place in a bowl. Cool nuts slightly, chop and add to tomatoes. Add the zest and juice of a lemon, 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, feta and oregano. Drain pasta, toss with tomato mixture and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve 2 steaks per person with orzo alongside.

Next Recipe

More recipes? Try these recommendations:

Similar Recipes

All About…

Recipe Collections

Showing 1-10 of 25

View all 25 Salad Collections

Comments & Reviews

recipe Mediterranean Eggplant Steaks and Orzo Salad with Walnuts, Oregano and Tomatoes
Betsy St. Catharines , ON 07-23-2009
Flag

Thank You Rachael!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

Thank you Rachael I am known as a good cook and when I made the steaks for friends and family from Montreal to Niagara... Falls, and everybody loves them. the only thing that I did different was using already seasoned bread crumbs. Love 30 minute meals!!!!Read more
recipe Mediterranean Eggplant Steaks and Orzo Salad with Walnuts, Oregano and Tomatoes
Danielle Warwick, RI 07-14-2009
Flag

Yummy meatless meal
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I love the flavors of eggplant and spinach when combined in this way. I have made this dish a few times and changed up the... flavor of hummus. I omit the roasted red peppers but stick to the recipe otherwise. My boyfriend looked at this like a punishment when I place it in front of him last week but surprisingly enjoyed it! He even requested it again, which is a testiment to the flavor. Try this for yourself before judging the recipe.Read more
recipe Mediterranean Eggplant Steaks and Orzo Salad with Walnuts, Oregano and Tomatoes
Susan Gatineau, QC 03-30-2009
Flag

What a Disappointment!!!
Rated: 1 stars out of 5

This looked fabulous when ready to go in the oven. My husband and I couldn't wait to try it. We have been trying to include... at least one vegetarian meal each week and I thought this was worth a try. First let me say I only tried the eggplant, not the orzo salad. Assembled, it looked great - cooked it was awful. I pride myself on being a really good cook - thank God I didn't try this on company. It was a disaster. Not worth the time or effort.Read more
recipe Mediterranean Eggplant Steaks and Orzo Salad with Walnuts, Oregano and Tomatoes
Carmella Sandy, UT 01-29-2009
Flag

Can anyone say "peanut butter sandwiches"?
Rated: 1 stars out of 5

Thanks what we ended up having! We like all the ingredients separately, but together they did NOT work! My family thought... the orzo salad tasted like when shampoo gets in mouths. Way too lemony. My family loves trying new things, but this was not edible. Way too much bread crumbs. And overall just a weird mixture!Read more
recipe Mediterranean Eggplant Steaks and Orzo Salad with Walnuts, Oregano and Tomatoes
Rosemarie Mullica Hill, NJ 09-27-2008
Flag

Delicious and Tasty
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I think actually watching the episode before trying this recipe made a huge difference. I noticed that some people said it... was bland (I find a lot of her recipes are) so I added an extra garlic clove to the spinach and added more red peppers than was called for. I used seasoned bread crumbs and added some fresh grated parmesean cheese to that mixutre. Also salt and pepper the crap out of the eggplant slices!!!! Fresh parsley is also key for this recipe. It came out great for me. This is a keeper.Read more
recipe Mediterranean Eggplant Steaks and Orzo Salad with Walnuts, Oregano and Tomatoes
stjon Los Angeles, CA 09-24-2008
Flag

DEE-LISH!
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

Had to roast my own eggplant and made the hummus from scratch, but it was still pretty quick and easy. I like the simple,... clean flavors of the veggies along with the tang of the hummus. Also, i didn't have bread crumbs, so I toasted some bread and blended it with walnuts to add another layer to the flavors. Can't wait to share it with my veggie friends!Read more