Baked Fish With Spicy Eggplant

I wanted to try something new with the one eggplant I had left from the farmer's market. This recipe sounded great. Eggplant served with hot chile pepper is a common side dish in Central Africa. The flavors are delicious together and taste great with the fish. I used salmon since I had some in the freezer, but a whitefish would also work well.

Adapted from www.congocookbook.com.


Serves 4.


Ingredients
4 fish fillets (I used salmon but anything will do.)
1 eggplant, peeled and diced
3 fresh tomatoes, chopped (or one can diced tomatoes)
one onion, diced
1 cup water
ground cayenne, crushed red pepper, or black pepper, to taste (1 used 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper and it gave some good heat; use less if you are not up to it.)
1 tsp sea salt

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Place eggplant, tomatoes, onion, water, and spices in a large saucepan. Cover and simmer over medium heat until vegetables are soft, about 20 minutes. 
3. Cool slightly, transfer mixture to food processor, and puree until smooth (or mash by hand).
4. Spoon half of vegetable mixture in a large baking dish. 
5. Arrange fish on top, then pour remaining mixture over fish.
6. Bake until fish flakes easily with a fork, 10-15 minutes. Serve in shallow bowls.