Saturday, August 15, 2009

Recipe - Eggplant Tian

Day 214

The season of eggplant is upon us. I used to be vaguely frightened of eggplant. It does look pretty weird, vegetables are not supposed to be purple! However, like most delicious things, I am willing to overlook the less savory aspects of the eggplant.

My recipe began with this recipe, but altered to use what I had on hand. It was pretty quick and delicious. These proportions fed two well. Don't be scared of the eggplant!

15 basil leaves
2 stems fresh oregano
1/4 cup olive oil
1 large eggplant, cut into 1/4 inch slices
1 15 ounce can fire roasted diced tomatoes
2/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/3 cup parmesan cheese
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 425. Combine olive oil, basil, oregano, and a little salt and pepper in a food processor to make a paste. Baste each eggplant slice with the herb mixture. DO NOT CLEAN FOOD PROCESSOR YET.

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Oil a large baking sheet and place eggplant slices in a single layer on it. Roast in oven for 10-12 minutes until eggplant begins to soften. Remove and set aside.

While eggplant is roasting, add fire roasted tomatoes to the food processor with leftover oil and herbs and pulse to make a quick tomato sauce.

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Turn the oven down to 375.

Coat the bottom of a medium casserole dish liberally with the tomato sauce. Add a layer of the roasted eggplant, using about 1/3 of the eggplant. Add a layer of of feta, using 1/2 of the cheese, and top with a coating of tomato sauce. Repeat eggplant, feta, tomato sauce layers. Top with remaining eggplant slices and another coating of sauce (there may be some sauce left over, depending on how saucy you want the final product). Top with parmesan cheese. Bake for 30 minutes until cheese is hot and bubbly. Enjoy with a green salad and a thick slice of baguette.

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1 comment:

Katie said...

I have somewhat inherited my mother's fear of eggplants, but I can't wait to try this!