Eggplant Mozzarella

in #blog5 years ago

Eggplant, in its royal purple skin, can be prepared in many delicious ways. This recipe, which I came up with as a result of having all the following ingredients in my kitchen, is a very easy baked dish that is a great compliment to any spaghetti dinner!

  • 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 medium eggplant, sliced to ¼ inch thickness
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 1 pound mushrooms, sliced
  • 2 cups tomato sauce
  • 1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
In a large skillet, heat ½ tablespoon of oil, or just enough to cover the bottom of the pan, over medium heat. Brown both sides of the eggplant slices in oil over medium heat, in batches if necessary. Set browned slices aside. Add remaining 1 tablespoon of oil to skillet. Add onion and mushroom, and sauté until golden, about five minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Pour 1 cup of tomato sauce in the bottom of an 11 x 7 inch baking pan. Layer eggplant slices and mushroom mixture on top of sauce, then pour remaining one cup of tomato sauce over eggplant and mushrooms. Evenly sprinkle mozzarella cheese over the top. Bake 35 to 40 minutes.


pixabay.com

Browning the eggplant turned out to be a bit of a challenge for me. The slices seemed to soak up a lot of oil. I ended up browning some of them without oil because I got nervous I was doing it wrong, but apparently eggplant is known to be very absorbent. I read some tips on how to avoid the problem of soaking up too much oil. One option is to soak the eggplant in salted water for 30 minutes, then drain, rinse, and pat the slices dry with paper towels before browning with just a little oil in a heavy non-stick pan. I imagine the salt that is absorbed prevents the eggplant from soaking up too much extra oil, and even though this seems like a time-consuming extra step, it gives you some time to get other ingredients together. Another option is to broil the eggplant slices in the oven. You could also use a cooking spray like Pam instead of olive oil. I used a homemade spinach tomato sauce in this recipe, which I made by using a can of crushed tomatoes, white wine, fresh torn spinach, garlic, salt, oregano, and basil. You could also use jarred pasta sauce. If you check the dish in the middle of baking, and the mozzarella is getting too brown, you can cover the pan with tin foil, but mine came out just about right without covering.

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Nice idea,
Try to place the eggplant together again after slicing but with a good shake of salt between each layer. This will draw out the water. It takes about 30-60 min. best to put them on a plate to catch the water.

Then take each one and wash of the salt under the tap and dry it with a cloth or kitchen paper (I do not like to use kitchen paper because it falls apart and then sticks to the slices). Don't be afraid to press down on the slabs to squeeze a little more water out.

By removing the moisture, it really helps when frying eggplant. It browns much more readily and I find the results are far better for a taste and consistency.

Same trick for any squash type veggi. I use it often on zucchini.

Would love to know how it works out for you. You got an upvote from me.

This eggplant looks yummy,i will copy this recipe and try to make it for dinner today

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