AwesomeBites

Tag: Eggplant

  • Moussaka – Eggplant Casserole

    Moussaka – Eggplant Casserole

    Moussaka hot from the oven!

    Inspired by Bobby Flay’s Moussaka Throwdown, I had to give it a go. 

    Awesome Moussaka

    2 medium eggplants

    salt

    Meat Sauce:

    1 pound ground lamb (or you can use a mixture of beef and lamb)

    2 tablespoons butter

    2 tsp greek seasoning

    1 medium onion finely chopped

    1 clove garlic minced

    1 dash cinnamon

    1/4 tsp nutmeg

    1 T chopped parsley

    1/2  cup mashed Italian Roma Tomatoes

    1/4 cup red wine

    oil

    1/4 cup Romano Cheese or Parmesan, grated

  • Bechamel Sauce:
  • 1 cup salted butter (2 sticks)
  • 1 cup flour
  • 4 cups milk, warmed
  • 8 egg yolks, lightly beaten
  • Pinch of ground nutmeg 

    • Make the Béchamel Sauce:

    Melt butter over low heat. Using a whisk, add flour to melted butter whisking continuously to make a smooth paste. Allow the flour to cook for a minute but do not allow it to brown.

    Add warmed milk to mixture in a steady stream, whisking continuously.

    Simmer over low heat until it thickens a bit but does not boil.

    Remove from heat, and stir in beaten egg yolks and pinch of nutmeg. Return to heat and stir until sauce thickens.  Set aside and assemble the casserole. 

    Slice eggplant long way, thinly and salt. Lay on paper towel to absorb moisture. Prepare meat sauce, brown ground meet add spices, tomatoes, red wine and simmer 30 minutes.

    Rinse salted eggplant, pat dry, fry until golden in the oil.  Drain well on paper towels, patting to remove as much oil as possible.

    Hot from the oven.

    In 9×9 inch baking dish, place a layer of eggplant and top with meat sauce, and then sprinkle romano cheese on top. Continue layering ending in eggplant.  Top with Cheese Sauce.  Bake at 375 degree oven 45 – 60 minutes.  Let stand for 15 minutes before slicing into 3 inch squares.

    Variations:  You can also add potatoes and zucchini along with your eggplant. Cut them thinly, potatoes need to be boiled until fork tender and then can be layered in the casserole.

    I have seen this made with breaded eggplant and no breading.  Try it both ways and let me know which you like best.

    Eggplant Casserole – Greek Style
    Mousakka hot from the oven!
  • Chorizo Lasagna with eggplant, mushroom and spinach

    Chorizo Lasagna with eggplant, mushroom and spinach

    Sure most of us have had eggplant lasagna or beef lasagna or chicken lasagna, and you can go that direction if you want to, but I had chorizo in my refrigerator and dinner time was approaching…

    Lasagna. Bite me!

    While many people like plain cheesy lasagna, I think it can be better with a few added ingredients.  Not only for taste mind you, but you can add vegetables in there and it is better.  When making casserole or a lasagna, there are flavor givers (chorizo, ground beef) and there are flavor sponges like mushrooms, eggplant that absorb the flavors around them.  For me, this makes a better dish.

    Since chorizo is so rich, I thought by adding eggplant and mushrooms it would provide balance to the dish. 

    2 pounds sauted browned meat and add to the red sauce below. (Chorizo or a combination of ground beef, or chicken or turkey, or italian sausage – removed from the casing.) My husband likes more meat, so he would have liked this lasagna better with more ground beef.  He told me this two times! 

    1 diced medium eggplant saute in white wine

    8 oz sliced mushrooms sauted in white wine

    8 oz fresh spinach

    6 cups Cheese Sauce (either four cheese sauce or alfredo sauce)

    6 cups Red Spaghetti sauce.  (I used garlic and onion sauce. I purposely stayed away from basil or sweet sauce)

    3 cups grated cheese.  (use Mozzarella or a combination of cheeses.  I used cheddar, mozzarella)

    8 oz of cottage cheese

    1/4 cup parmesan for the top

    16 slices pepper jack

    1/4 cup chopped scallions for the top

    1/4 tsp red pepper flakes – sprinkle on the top

    1 package (16 sheets) no boil lasagna noodles

    Once you have the ingredients sauted you are ready to start layering in the pan. 

    Sauted mushrooms and eggplant
    Sauted Chorizo

     Four  layers is your target. I start with a base of red sauce (which has your chorizo in it), top with 4 lasagna noodles or whatever number fits in the bottom of your pan. You can overlap a bit. 

    Next top with cheese sauce, then your vegetables; sauted eggplant and mushrooms; sprinkle with grated cheese.  Next add spinach, pepper jack cheese slices and start over.   The cottage cheese is for one of the middle layers.  Drop it by teaspoonfuls onto the spinach layer.  The cottage cheese lightens the whole mixture and adds texture.

    Pepper Jack over spinach

    Your last layer should be Cheese Sauce with grated cheese, parmesan and scallions and then sprinkle with red pepper flakes.  It will look nice this way.   You’ll notice small parchment paper tucked in along my baking dish.  This lasagna is so deep, and my pan has hand holds, that I need to cover until the dish cooks.

    Ready for the oven!

    Place in the oven at 375 degrees for 50-60 minutes covered with foil until bubbly, then 10 minutes uncovered to finish melting the cheesy top. 

    Hot from the oven.

    Let it cool for 15-20 minutes so it holds its shape for cutting.

    You can put this together the morning before or even a week before and freeze.  If you do freeze, just extend your oven time to 90 minutes or so. 

    Serve with a nice green salad.  If you cool it properly you can see all the layers.  

    Cool it properly and it stands up!

  • Eggplant Parmesan – Parmigiana di Melanzani

    1 1/2 pounds eggplant, peeled and cut in 1/2 inch slices

    Salt

    Flout

    1/4 to 1/2 cup olive oil

    2 cups your favorite pasta sauce

    8 ounces mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced

    1/2 cup freshly greated Parmesan cheese

    Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Choose a shallow 2 quart baking dish that is attractive enough to serve from and rub with olive oil.

    Sprinkle both sides of eggplant slices with salt (to draw out the moisture)  and spread them out in one layer on a platter or board. After 20-30 minutes pat he eggplant dry with paper towels. dip each slice in flour and shake off excess.  In a heavy skillet, in oil, brown both sides of the eggplant. Drain on paper towels.

    Pour 1 cup of tomato sauce into the oiled bake and serve pan. Spread the eggplant slices over tomato sauce, top with a layer of mozzarella and parmesan. Repeat with 1 or 2 more layers being sure to finish up with tomato and cheese on top. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes, then uncover and bake another 10 minutes.  You can place the dish under the broiler for a few minutes to brown the cheese, but be careful not to overdo.