This delectable dish serves 8 as an entree, 6 with seconds. It was inspired by an internet recipe from the cooking website, allrecipes.com. This version has been worked over to more reflect the northern deserts and foothills where we live, what we grow in our own vegetable gardens and what we can find in the local farmer's markets and produce stands.
- Enough eggplant sliced 1/2 inch thick for two layers in a medium casserole dish (two large)
- Sea Salt for taste and to help grill the eggplant slices
- 2 or 3 thick slices of whole wheat or other whole grained bread, crumbled
- 1 tablespoon brown or turbinado sugar
- 1 large white or yellow onion, chopped
- 4 large cloves garlic, minced
- 1 celery stock or 1 large carrot, diced (you can use both if you have them)
- 4 fresh tomatoes, chopped (San Marzano, but any ripe off your own vines will work)
- 1 large red bell pepper, chopped (a combination of small sweet peppers is fun)
- 10 to 15 pitted green olives, chopped (you can substitute or combine 1 tablespoon capers)
- 1 or 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons fresh oregano or to taste (dried will work, reduce to 1 teaspoon)
- 2 tablespoons fresh basil or to taste (dried will work, reduce to 1 teaspoon)
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 pinch of crushed red pepper
- 1/2 cup organic, plain, unsweetened soy milk or rice milk
- 1/2 half and half
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
- 1 cup shredded low-moisture mozzarella
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped fine
Turn your oven to high heat broil. Peel the eggplants, then slice them into 1/2 inch slices. Place slices on a grill topped broiling pan, sprinkle lightly with sea salt. Broil the eggplant slices on the middle shelf for 5 minutes, then flip them over with a fork, sprinkle lightly with sea salt and broil for another five minutes. You might need to broil two batches to accommodate all the slices. Remove from oven. It's alright if they cool down while other preparations ensue.
Turn the oven setting from broil to 375 F.
Crumble the bread in a medium bowl and mix with the turbinado sugar.
Saute the onion, garlic, celery, carrot and bell pepper over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, and cook for 3 or 4 minutes longer. Stir in the fresh oregano, basil, paprika and pinch of red pepper. Remove the skillet from the stove. You don't have to worry about this cooling down a bit either.
The assembly phase can be varied, of course. Layer it in a way that makes you happy!
Spray a medium sized casserole dish with olive oil then place a single layer of eggplant slices on the bottom. Take half of the bread crumbs and sprinkle over the layer of eggplant. Then sprinkle half of the mozzarella on top of the bread crumbs. Place the second layer of eggplant slices on top.
Add the remaining breadcrumbs, the chopped olives and 1/2 cup parsley to the onion and tomato mixture. Spread this on top of the second layer of eggplant slices. Sprinkle 1/2 cup chopped walnuts on top of that.
Swirl the soy milk, half and half and the remaining 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts in a blender until the walnuts have merged with the milk. Pour this mixture over the top of the casserole. Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella over the milk topping.
Bake for 30 minutes. The top will begin to brown slightly and look all bubbly scrumptious. Remove the casserole from the oven, top with the remaining two tablespoons chopped parsley. Present the casserole to the table. It can handle five or so minutes of cooling, but it can also be served right from the oven.
Tasty Layered Eggplant Casserole goes well with a simple baby spinach salad topped with some chopped walnuts, raisins (or cranraisins or both), and some fat-free raspberry vinaigrette dressing. The walnuts in the salad will compliment the subtle walnut flavor of the casserole. For a beverage, pour a good red table wine and chilled sparkling Sierra water.
Delicious Eggplant Parmesan
Everyone who loves eggplant probably has stories to tell and favorite recipes to share when it comes to the most famous of eggplant dishes, Eggplant Parmesan. Certainly, one of the most enjoyable days of late summer is when the eggplant, tomatoes, garlic, onion, pepper and basil can all be picked perfectly fresh, perfectly ripe, directly from the garden. The traditional way to prepare the eggplant is to peel and slice the eggplant, dip the slices in whipped egg, coat them in bread crumbs, then fry them in hot olive oil, but there are some low-fat alternatives. Instead of frying the eggplant slices in oil, try grilling them on the outdoor hibachi, or you can cook them in your hickory smoker, or you can broil or bake them in the oven.
