Eggplant Lasagna

 

People sometimes get the mistaken idea the South’s mouth is only filled with barbeque and fried chicken.  Both are popular I have to admit and goodness knows, with a mom from the Carolinas I sure had my share, although in my childhood, barbeque was a special night at a local, smoke filled barbecue restaurant. In those days few people owned home smokers or even grills.

 

Fried chicken was another matter, but there was a difference. Lots of people had chickens in their backyards and the first thing you did before making fried chicken was wring the chicken’s neck and pluck off the feathers.  Got to admit, we did not do that at our house, but many in the neighbors did, sho-nuff!

 

But, let’s get back to the order of things that filled the South’s mouth.  Number one was not meat, but vegetables.  May have been a carryover by the folks, including my parents, who lived through the Great Depression. Everybody had a garden.  My grandfather plowed his backyard and my memory nothing beat tomatoes fresh off the vine and corn on the cob that you popped off the stalk and shucked right there in the yard.  Yes, I did eat it as soon as I shucked it. Sitting right there in the garden and hoping my grand daddy didn't see me.

 

Number two on the table was rice.  Oh, my!  My mom’s rice and gravy!  When we moved to Japan, we fit right in!  But sometimes we just ate it with butter or some fresh tomato sauce.

 

But the recipe I’m going to share has nothing to do with southern nostalgia, but it has everything to do with vegetables.  I never ate eggplants as a kid.  Never saw one.  But, I saw plenty of tomatoes and tomatoes are the real stars of my version of Eggplant Lasagna, or at least the Italian version of tomato sauce.  Making this dish still brought back memories of my grandfather’s garden.

 

Do you eat a lot of vegetables as a kid?  I still can’t get enough.  Every variety. I plan meals based on which vegetables I hunger for.  These days meat, mostly fish and chicken, comes in second.

 

And sometimes the meal is just vegetables, seldom fried or boiled.  I do a lot in the oven and this recipe is a quick put-it-together and slide it in and wait a while.  Believe me, it’s more than worth the short wait. 

 

Make this dish and nobody going to complain about the lack of meat.  Matter of fact, they may not do much talkin’.

 

Eggplant Lasagna

 

If you haven’t already, open that first bottle of a light Italian white wine and pour a good sized goblet to prepare yourself for the joy of cooking!

 

By the way, eggplant is called aubergine in Europe…..and I don’t know another country that calls it eggplant, not even Canada.

 

Ok, on with it….and remember, the recipe is only a plan.  You’re the chef! Change the plan to suit your taste buds!

 

Ingredients

2 medium to large eggplants, sliced length wise about ¾ inch thick

Olive Oil (no telling how much you’ll use, but I used a few splashes here and there)

2 eight-ounce packages of sliced mushrooms

3 (or more) cloves of garlic

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tablespoon or more Italian seasoning (I used The Spice Lab’s Italian Rustico—from Amazon and I did a few good and heavy shakes)

24-25 ounces of your favorite Italian marinara sauce. 

15 ounces ricotta cheese

½ cup grated parmesan cheese

1 10-ounce package of frozen broccoli, thawed and chopped (Don’t like broccoli? Use spinach.)

1 large egg

2 cups or more ripped up mozzarella cheese

chopped fresh basil (optional)

 

Puttin’ It Together

 

Heat the oven to 400º F or 200º C

 

Spray 2 rimmed baking sheets with olive oil and also spray a 9x13 inch baking dish and set it aside.

 

Lay the eggplant slices on the baking sheets and brush olive oil on both sides. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Roast the eggplant slices for 20 minutes or until they are browned on one side, then flip them over and roast for another 20 minutes.  Note: If you have a small oven, put one baking pan on the top rack and the other on a lower rack.  At the twenty minute point, after you flip the eggplant slices over, swap racks.

 

While the eggplants are browning, time to toss the sliced mushroom in a large pan, add some olive oil and cook until brown.  Toss in the sliced garlic for another 2 minutes. Add the marinara sauce, stir well and remove the pan from the heat.

 

In a large bowl, add the ricotta cheese, a ¼ cup parmesan cheese, the egg, and salt and pepper. Stir well, then add the chopped broccoli and stir again.

 

Time for the oven!

 

For two layers:  

 

Put some of the marinara/mushroom sauce on the bottom of the 9x13 baking pan, then arrange half the slices of eggplant over the sauce.

 

Spread all of the ricotta mixture over the eggplant slices.

 

Layer on the remaining eggplant slices and cover with the remaining marinara/mushroom sauce. Top with mozzarella and sprinkle on as much parmesan as you want.

 

Bake for 20-30 minutes.  You want to see the cheese has melted and the lasagna is bubbling.

 

Remove from the oven and sprinkle on the chopped fresh basil, if you wish.

This may sound a little complicated, but it’s not.

 

Short course:  1) Slice and brown the eggplants 2) While the eggplant bakes, cook the mushrooms and marinara sauce 3) Mix the eggs and ricotta, etc 4) Layer everything and slide it in the oven for 20-30 minutes

 

Simply delicious.  Now, open that second bottle of a light Italian white wine and proceed to fill the bellies of the hungry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Middle East Style Stuffed Eggplant

Middle East Style Stuffed Eggplant

You like eggplant?  Know anything about them, other than they’re almost black and very shiny.  Well, not all of them are dark and I think we’re the only country that calls them eggplants.  In France and Germany (slightly different spelling) and England, they’re known as aubergines.  Hey, we also use that word, but for us it’s the name for a dark purple color, not the name of the fruit.  Yes, eggplant, a member of the nightshade family (as is the tomato) is a fruit.  So what is a fruit?  Botanically speaking, a fruit develops from the ovary of a seed bearing plant, while a vegetable is another part of the plant such as roots (carrots), leaves (spinach), or stalks (celery and broccoli).

Ok, fine, but what is the nightshade family? You may ask, as you recall your teenage years and being mesmerized by the girl next door, undressing with the shade pulled down.  

The nightshade family or Solanaceae, features plants that grow on every continent except Antarctica.  Want some names:  tomato, tomatillo (oldest found was a fossil about 52 million years old), peppers, potatoes, and even tobacco.  Some, like the mandrake have psychoactive properties; others such as the Belladonna are deadly poisonous.

Hurry, hurry read all about them nightshades:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solanaceae

Eggplants come in so many colors and sizes.  Deep purple and globe shaped you’re familiar with, but how about light purple, striped, yellow, white, slender, round, curled?  Want to know more?  Check out this link and then let’s get down to some cookin’!

https://www.thekitchn.com/a-visual-guide-to-10-glorious-varieties-of-eggplant-232828

First step in preparing any dish is to open a bottle of wine.  In this case I chose a polite Riesling from the Mosel Valley.  I saw the wine prices in the States and was appalled!  Here in Germany, I buy very fine whites for the equivalent of six or seven dollars.  But, anyway, open the damn bottle!  Your hungry guests are waiting.

Middle Eastern Style Stuffed Eggplant

This recipe is made in four parts:  Spice Mix, Tahini Sauce, baked eggplant, and the meat stuffing.

Turn your oven to 400ºF and while it heats, we can put the spices together and make the sauce.

Spice Mix

Mix well (I used a small bowl):

1 teaspoon each, paprika, powdered coriander, and powdered cumin.

½ teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon herbs de Provence

Set aside.

Tahini Sauce – get your blender or food processor ready

½ Cup Greek style Yogurt

2 Tablespoons well mixed tahini paste

6 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

Juice from half a lemon

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon red pepper (or more, you snarling beast!)

3 Tablespoons water

Stuff it all in your appliance and whiz it until it's thoroughly blended.  Should be the consistency of yogurt.

Time to get those eggplants in the oven.

Two Eggplants

Slice them in half, rub the flesh sides with olive oil and sprinkle generously with about 1/3 of the spice mixture.

Put some parchment paper on a broiling pan, lay on the eggplant halves and pop them in the oven for 25-30 minutes and check.  Mine cooked to the soft stage (just browning) in about 35 minutes.  All ovens are different.

While the eggplants roast, make the stuffing.

Stuffing

½  onion, peeled and diced

half cup of fresh mint leaves minced

3 Cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

1 ½  pounds ground beef

Handful of raisins

Fresh black pepper

Red pepper to taste

1 ½  Cups cooked rice

Handful of cherry tomatoes, chopped

Splash some olive oil in a large frying pan.  When the pan is medium hot, toss in the chopped onion and garlic.  Don't’ let the onions and garlic burn.  Add a little more oil if you need to.

When the onions/garlic are soft, toss in the meat and break it up as much as possible.  When the meat is no longer pink, toss in the cherry tomatoes, the rice, the black and red pepper, raisins, the mint, and the remainder of the spice mix. Stir well.  Add salt to taste.  Cook well. The stuffed eggplants are not going back in the oven.

If you timed it right, the eggplant halves are ready to come out.  Use a spoon to mash down the centers and mound the meat filling on top.  Drizzle on the tahini sauce. You may want to add some sliced green onions, chopped parsley, or sprinkle on some paprika for color.

Better open another bottle of wine.  Your guests might want some too.

By the way, I had both meat mixture and tahini mixture left over. With the leftovers I’ll make tacos, using lettuce leaves for the taco shells.

Bon Appétit!  Or in German:  Guter Appetit! Or in Amerkin:  Dig in!