Sharon’s Eggplant Casserole

Beautiful glossy eggplant in a market in Provence.

Here’s a recipe using my recent post on Spicy Tomato Sauce with Orange. It’s a simple layered casserole using slices of eggplant. Kind of like eggplant parmigiana but the flavor profile is nothing like that. There is also Moussaka from Greece, but again this is nothing like Moussaka. So I’m just going to call it Sharon’s Eggplant Casserole.

You can roast the slices of eggplant and make the sauce in advance. If you do that, this comes together super quick. I pulled the the roasted eggplant out of the freezer and thawed it before putting together the casserole.

Sharon’s Layered Eggplant Casserole
(serves 6 as an entree, 10 as a side)

Double batch of Spicy Tomato Sauce with Orange (4 cups)
2 medium eggplants
olive oil
1 14 oz. can artichoke hearts packed in water, drained (or use frozen, thawed)
12 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese or Italian blend cheese
salt and pepper
Aleppo red pepper flakes (optional)

Preheat oven to 375℉.

Slice the eggplants thinly, thinly enough that you have enough slices to cover a 11-12″ x 8″ x 2″ baking dish twice (so 2 layers of eggplant). Lay eggplant slices out on two oiled baking sheets. Brush eggplant slices lightly with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake for 10 minutes, until slices are softened. [You could also grill the eggplant slices rather than bake them to add another flavor dimension.]

Brush a 11-12″ x 8″ x 2″ baking dish with olive oil. Spread 1/3 of the tomato sauce in the bottom of the dish. Spread 1/2 the artichoke hearts in the sauce. Sprinkle on 1/3 of the shredded cheese, then 1/2 of the eggplant. If you have the Aleppo red pepper flakes and want to spice things up a bit more, sprinkle a little bit over the eggplant. Repeat the layering: 1/3 of the sauce, the rest of the artichoke hearts, 1/3 of the cheese, and the rest of the eggplant (and Aleppo pepper if using). Top with remaining sauce and cheese.

In summary, the layering from first to last:
1/3 sauce
1/2 artichoke hearts
1/3 cheese
1/2 eggplant slices
1/3 sauce
1/2 artichoke hearts
1/3 cheese
1/2 eggplant slices
1/3 sauce
1/3 cheese

Bake until hot and bubbly, about 30 minutes.

Let rest for 5 minutes before serving to set up the cheese. Serve with crusty bread.

Reheats well. Should freeze well but I haven’t done it, no guarantees.

Frittata: Easy dinner

My additions included leftover pasta with tomato sauce, cauliflower, almonds, rice, jack cheese, and parsley. I sprinkled the parsley on top because it looks nice but you can mix herbs in with all the other additions.

Frittata is the answer to the question “What’s for dinner?” when you look in the fridge and see eggs and some leftovers. (The question can also be “what’s for lunch?” Or breakfast.) You can toss most anything in there. If it’s very saucy, only use about 1/2 cup of the sauce.

Here’s the simple method for a frittata for 4.

1. Assemble the additions, 3-4 cups in total. Possible additions include cooked pasta (with or without sauce), cooked rice, cooked vegetables, some chopped herbs, cooked meat. Cut anything chunky into bite-sized pieces. No need to chop up pasta. If additions aren’t seasoned already, season with salt and pepper.
2. Shred or chop up some cheese (3/4 cup to 1 cup worth), if you like. Good place to use up the end of a bit of cheese. Mix more than one if you like.
3. Preheat oven to 350℉.
4. Beat together 6 eggs with 1/2 cup milk. Season with salt and pepper. Mix in the cheese.
5. Heat 2 tablespoons butter or oil in a 9-10″ ovenproof skillet (non-stick not essential but nice to have). Use medium heat.
6. Sauté all the additions for a couple of minutes to warm them up.
7. Pour the eggs over the additions and mix gently. Let cook until sides just begin to set, a few minutes.
8. Place skillet in the oven and bake for 25 minutes.
9. Voila! Dinner (or lunch, or breakfast, or snack).

The variations are endless.

Eggplant in Yogurt Sauce

I have been trying to solve the problem of the greasy eggplant for a while. Standard Breading Procedure (SBP) works quite well. SBP is a 3-step process: a dip in flour, then a dip in beaten egg, then a dip in breading. The breading sticks to the egg and gives you a crispy exterior without the greasy part. It works quite well, but it is a multi-step process and kind of messy. I was searching for something simpler.

If you try to fry eggplant with no coating at all, it acts like a sponge. Sucks up oil at an alarming rate. It contains so much water that it takes forever to brown too. The secret is just the egg white, a layer of protein that seals in the water and encourages browning. It works on cubes (toss 1 beaten egg white with 1 cubed eggplant in large bowl) and it works on slices (brush on the beaten egg white). It’s the simplest method I’ve found for cooking eggplant when a recipe calls for fried eggplant.

You only need to fry in a thin layer of oil and most of it isn’t absorbed by the eggplant. This is important for this recipe, as the sauce gets too oily if you fry the eggplant without any coating at all.

Eggplant in yogurt sauce
(serves 4-6)

1 egg white, beaten
1 large eggplant, cut into 1/2″ slices lengthwise
about 2 tablespoons vegetable oil or ghee
about 3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon turmeric
2 teaspoons ground cumin
about 1 cup Greek part or whole milk yogurt (see Note)
1/4-1/2 teaspoon hot red ground chiles (Aleppo pepper, Korean)
1/2 teaspoon sugar

Brush both sides of the eggplant slices with the beaten egg white.

Heat up the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the eggplant slices until lightly browned, a couple of minutes per side. Cook in batches so slices aren’t crowded in the pan. Remove eggplant to a cookie sheet and sprinkle lightly with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon turmeric.

When all the eggplant is cooked, add more oil to the skillet, if needed, to measure about 1 tablespoon. Add the cumin and fry for 1 minute. Add the eggplant to the skillet and turn to coat in oil. Turn off the heat then mix in the yogurt, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon turmeric, ground chiles (according to your taste for spicy), and sugar. Turn on the heat to the lowest setting and gently warm until yogurt is heated. If the yogurt gets too hot, it will curdle. Taste sauce for salt and spice. Add more salt and chiles, if needed.

Note: you can make your own Greek yogurt by taking 1 cup of part or whole milk plain yogurt and draining it. Line a sieve with a double layer of damp cheesecloth and add the yogurt. Place over a bowl and allow the whey to drain out overnight in the refrigerator.

Hot Dog and Sauerkraut Bake

Opal in the Indian Peaks Wilderness near Boulder, Colorado in 2013

This post is dedicated to my dog Opal. That’s her in 2013 when she was still pretty frisky at 10 years old. We had to make the difficult decision to put her down recently. She was 16 years 5 months old. A very ripe old age for a German Shorthaired Pointer, especially one who a) nearly got swept away in the Crystal River near Aspen when she was a puppy, b) fell off a 30 foot cliff in the Colorado back country when she was 10, c) was diagnosed with adrenal cancer when she was 14 (the tumors were benign), d) got Cushing’s Disease as a result of the tumors. Opal’s last few years were filled with lots of good drugs, though even good drugs don’t taste very good.

Which brings us to hot dogs. Chunks of hot dogs were the best way to hide those pills and she surely looked forward to those hot dogs. We joked that the hot dogs were actually keeping her alive, not the meds. Wish it were true! It would have been a whole lot cheaper.

Opal just ran out of steam. Tough enough being a 16 year old dog. Even tougher when you have a whole lot of health issues. She loved us with all her heart. She was absolutely neurotic from the moment we got her from the shelter at 8 months. She mellowed only slightly in her old age. But, if you were her friend (i.e. gave her some treats), she’d love you too. Dogs are special creatures. Our family misses her so very much.

So, there was a pound of hot dogs in my fridge. This is what happened to it. It’s simple and tasty. It’s also amenable to different sausages: kielbasa, bratwurst (if using a raw sausage, brown the slices first), even soy hot dogs. To make this vegetarian, use soy dogs and a vegetarian chicken-style stock. I use a Kosher brand from Israel called Osem when I want chicken flavor without the bird.

Hot Dog and SAUERKRAUT Bake
(serves 6)
Prep: 10 minutes, Cook: 55 minutes

2 tablespoons oil
2 onions, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried thyme
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
3/4 cup apple cider
1 pound hot dogs, sliced
1 pound sauerkraut, rinse and squeezed dry
2 tablespoons grainy mustard
2 tablespoons grated white horseradish (optional)
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
12 oz. rye or hearty multigrain bread, crusts trimmed off and cut into 1″ cubes
non-stick cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350℉.

Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onions and saute until soft but not browned. Add garlic and thyme. Stir and cook another minute.

Add the flour and cook, stirring often, until flour starts to turn golden. Stir in chicken broth and cider, mixing well to dissolve the flour. Bring to simmer and cook for 5 minutes until thickened, stirring often.

Remove from heat. Stir in hot dogs, sauerkraut, mustard, horseradish (if using), and black pepper. Spray a 4 quart casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray. Pour mixture into casserole and set aside.

Spread bread cubes on a baking sheet in one layer. Spray liberally with cooking spray. Bake for 5 minutes. Stir bread cubes around and return to the oven for 3 more minutes. Spread and smush bread cubes on top of hot dog mixture.

Bake for 25 minutes, uncovered, until hot and bubbly and topping is well-browned.

Serve with a green salad.

Reheat in conventional oven 25-30 minutes covered then 5-10 minutes uncovered. Bread cubes become tough if reheated in the microwave.

Red Lentil Dal (with Potatoes if you like)

Another Monday, another dal recipe! This one for Red Lentils, which are one of my favorite dals because red lentils cook up fast and become beautifully soft and smooth. Of course, luscious Indian spices are part of the appeal.

The potatoes are optional. If you add them, you will surely have a dish hearty enough to serve as an entree.

I specify Korean or Aleppo crushed red peppers because I love the fruity flavor with just a touch of heat of both these peppers. You could use a whole hot dried red pepper instead – put it in at the start, when you cook the mustard seeds. You could use Italian crushed red pepper (what you might sprinkle on pizza) but it is much, much sharper so cut back the amount unless you want this to be very spicy.

Non-cooking Prep: 10 minutes
Active cooking: 15 minutes
Unattended cooking: 30-60 minutes

Red Lentil Dal (with optional potatoes)

Serves 6-8

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 onion, cut into 1/4″ thick slices
1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 whole clove
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon Korean or Aleppo crushed red pepper
1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1 large clove garlic, minced
4 cups vegetable broth + 1 teaspoon salt if broth is unsalted
1 cup red lentils
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
2 large russet potatoes, peeled and cubed (optional)
1/2 cup chopped cilantro and/or parsley
juice of 1/2 a lime
more salt to taste

Heat up a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil. Place the onions in the pan and cook until quite brown on both sides. Remove to a plate lined with paper towels to drain. Set aside the Dutch oven while you toast the spices.

Heat up a small skillet over medium heat. Add the coriander seeds, cumin seeds, and clove. Toast until fragrant, a couple of minutes. Grind in a spice grinder or crush with the bottom of a heavy pan. Mix with ground cinnamon, ground cardamom, and crushed red pepper.

Add the remaining oil to the Dutch oven and heat over medium-high heat. Add the mustard seeds and cook them until they start to pop. Add the ginger, garlic, and all the spices. Stir for 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add the vegetable broth, red lentils, and tomatoes. If your vegetable broth contains no salt, add a teaspoon now. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to maintain a simmer, cover. Cook for 30-45 minutes. You want the lentils very soft so you can’t really overcook them.

While dal is cooking, coarsely chop onions and set aside.

If you want to make this dish even more hearty, add potatoes. Stir them in after the lentils are cooked, replace the cover and cook until the potatoes are tender, 15-20 minutes.

Add chopped herbs-if you don’t like cilantro, use all parsley-chopped onions, and lime juice. Taste and add more salt if necessary.

Serve hot with naan or rice.

Moong Dal Cooked with Red Lentils (Instant Pot)

This is a very easy dal that combines red lentils and moong dal. What’s a moong, you ask?! They are skinned split mung beans. I just happened to have a bag in my cupboard (don’t even ask). Raw, they smell kind of funky – very earthy – but that funkiness dissipates on cooking. If you don’t have any moong beans, you can make this with all red lentils. If you want to try it with moong dal, look for it in Indian markets or bigger Asian markets. I got my bag at Pacific Ocean Marketplace in Broomfield, Colorado, land of all sorts of interesting foodstuffs from throughout Asia.

I (and more importantly Instant Pot) don’t recommend using the quick release with small legumes like lentils. It blows the little guys up into the release valve. Could block the valve and complicates clean-up.

Moong Dal Cooked with Red Lentils

Serves 4-6

3 oz. moong dal (skinned split mung beans), about 1/2 cup
2 1/2 oz. red lentils, about 1/2 cup
2 1/2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2-3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3 Tablespoons vegetable oil or butter
pinch of ground asafetida (optional)
1/2 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
1/4 large onion, chopped
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 small Roma tomato or a handful of cherry/grape tomatoes, chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne or more to taste

Rinse the moong dal and red lentils in a few changes of water. Drain and place in the Instant Pot. Add water and ground turmeric. Close lid and cook under pressure for 2 minutes (3 minutes at Boulder altitude, 4 minutes at Colorado ski area altitudes). When cooking is complete, allow pressure to release naturally, about 15 minutes.

While the pressure is releasing, prepare the onion-spice mix.

Heat oil or butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add asafetida, whole cumin seeds, and onions. Sauté until onions are golden, then add garlic. Sauté for another 30 seconds. Add tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes until tomatoes are soft and smushy. Stir in ground coriander, ground cumin, and cayenne. Remove from heat.

When the pressure has released completely, remove lid and stir salt and onion mixture into dal. Taste and add more salt if needed. Serve hot.

Reheats well. It will thicken up considerably when chilled but become more liquid again on heating, so no need to add water.

Adapted from A Taste of India by Madhur Jaffrey.

Baked Tamale Pie

This is cozy, homey, winter time fare. It’s quite easy to make. You cook the stew part in an oven-proof skillet, spread some cornbread batter on top, and bake. It’s not really a tamale, or like a tamale, but that’s what the original recipe called it.

The original recipe called for a pound of ground beef, which I didn’t have. I did have some vegetarian chorizo sausage. As vegetarian sausage goes, it’s not half bad, particularly in this application where there are lots of flavors and textures going on. It can be pricey though. If you want to stay vegetarian without tracking down vegetarian chorizo, use a drained can of black beans in place of the chorizo.

My preferred pan for cooking this is a 9″ cast iron skillet. Goes stove to oven to table. And you get a workout moving it.

Baked Tamale Pie
(serves 4-5)

Stew:
2 tablespoons oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium green bell pepper, chopped
1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 1/2 cups frozen corn or 1 12 oz. can corn
1 2.2 oz. can sliced ripe olives, drained
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
8 oz. diced vegetarian chorizo (there are a number of brands; I used Field Roast brand)

Cornbread:
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder (see Note for altitude adjustment)
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
2 tablespoons oil

Garnish:
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese

In a 9-10″ ovenproof skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Sauté onions and pepper until tender. Stir in tomatoes, their liquid, tomato sauce, corn, olives, chili powder, and cumin. Heat to boiling, reduce heat to maintain a simmer, and cook for 10 minutes. Stir in chorizo and let it simmer while you prepare the cornbread.

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

In a bowl, stir together cornmeal, flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. In a 1 cup liquid measuring cup, mix together the milk, egg, and oil. Pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until moistened throughout. Don’t over mix.

Pour the cornbread batter over the stew and spread it evenly to cover the stew.

Bake for 20 minutes until cornbread is a light golden. Sprinkle the cheese over the cornbread and serve.

Note: For Denver/Boulder elevation, reduce baking powder to 1 teaspoon. For Colorado mountain elevations, reduce baking powder to 3/4 teaspoon.

Black Beans and Rice, InstantPot version

My pantry (and I use this term broadly; it includes my freezer) is full of lots of things that make it easy to throw together a meal in short order. Though I live only 10 minutes from 2 well stocked grocery stores, going out in the dark, when snow is blowing sideways, is not all that attractive. Much easier to figure out dinner with what is on hand. This recipe happened on just such an evening. Look in fridge. Look in pantry. Ah, this will work!

“Beans and rice” are common all over Latin America. Black beans and rice are the rule in Cuban and Cuban-American kitchens. Some recipes include pork of some kind. This recipe does not. In fact, it’s vegan. In this case, I didn’t miss the meat at all.

I cooked the beans in my InstantPot. Though you can cook them from dry without soaking them this way, I prefer to soak them first. The beans hold their shape better, and you can discard the soaking liquid before cooking the beans, which cuts down on the gasiness a little.

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Cuban Black Beans and Rice in the InstantPot
(serves 6-8)

1/4 cup olive oil
1 large onion, minced
1 bunch scallions, white part minced and green tops thinly sliced
1 roasted red pepper, diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 cups water (see note)
1 1/2 cups long-grain rice
3 cups cooked black beans (you can use canned)
2-3 teaspoons salt

Select the Sauté setting on the InstantPot. Add the olive oil. Add the onion, white part of scallions, red pepper, and garlic. Stir to combine. Sauté for a minute. Turn off the InstantPot and lock the lid in place. The residual heat in the pot will be enough to soften the onions. Also, we don’t want to burn the garlic. Burned garlic is gross!

Remove the lid. Add oregano, water, rice, beans, and 2 teaspoons salt. Stir to combine. Lock the lid in place and select Manual. Cook for 10-15 minutes (10 at sea level, 12 at 5000 feet, 15 at 9000 feet). Let sit on Keep Warm for 10 minutes after cooking has completed. Release pressure. Mix in sliced green onion tops. Taste for salt; add more if needed.

I like to garnish this with a few shakes of red hot sauce, like Crystal, Tabasco, or Cholula.

Note: if you cook the black beans yourself, use the cooking liquid to replace all or some of the water. You can also use the liquid from canned beans for this.

Based on a recipe from Bernard Clayton’s Cooking Across America by Bernard Clayton, Simon & Schuster, 1993.

Red Lentil Dal

This is a fabulous version of dal. The original recipe used yellow split peas but I have red lentils, so that’s what I used. And, I used my pressure cooker, because it makes cooking beans so quick and easy.

I don’t usually chop onions using a food processor, but in this recipe, it works perfectly. You don’t need a nice looking dice. The onions cook long enough that they will melt right into the lentils.

You can serve this as a side dish or as a main dish. It’s great over brown rice. Or white rice- but I love the chewiness of brown rice with the mushy lentils.

Red Lentil Dal
(serves 6-8)

1 cup red lentils, rinsed
3 cups water
1 can diced tomatoes with green chiles (such as Rotel™ brand)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
1 onion, chopped finely
5 large cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon ground coriander
3/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 cup minced cilantro (fresh or frozen)
1 Tablespoon butter
1/2-1 teaspoon kosher salt

Cover the lentils in cold water and soak for an hour. Drain the lentils, rinse again, and place in the pressure cooker. Add 3 cups of water and the diced tomatoes (no need to drain them). Lock the lid in place, bring to pressure, and cook at high pressure for 15 minutes. [If you don’t have a pressure cooker, you can cook them on the stove for 45-60 minutes, until they are quite soft.]

While the lentils are cooking, heat up the oil in a skillet over high heat. Add the cumin seeds and cook them until they begin to brown, about a minute. Reduce the heat to medium, and add the onions and garlic. Cook until they are a nice toasty brown. This will take a while, about the amount of time it takes to cook the lentils in a pressure cooker. Add the coriander, turmeric, and cayenne. Stir to combine the spices with the onions. Remove from heat.

When the lentils are done, release the pressure and remove the lid. Add the onions, minced cilantro, butter, and salt. Stir to combine and melt the butter. Serve as a side dish or over rice as a vegetarian main dish.

Adapted from a recipe for “Everyday Yellow Dal” in 5 Spices, 50 Dishes by Ruta Kahate, Chronicle Books, 2007.

Photo: By Mytinytank (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons

Eggplant with Mushroom-Yogurt Stuffing

This is a delicious meatless entreé for 4 or a side dish for 8. The mushrooms give it a meaty texture and flavor. It’s very hearty for a vegetarian dish, especially one that doesn’t include any cheese.

I like to spray the bread crumb topping with non-stick cooking spray. It helps the crumbs brown up nicely while adding very little fat. If you want a richer, crispier topping, you can combine the crumbs with 2 Tablespoons melted butter before spreading them onto the eggplant.

You can stuff the eggplants ahead of time and bake them later. You’ll need to bake them a bit longer to make sure the center is piping hot, however.

Eggplant with Mushroom-Yogurt Stuffing
(serves 4 as an entreé or 8 as a side dish)

2 large eggplants, 1 to 1¼ pound each, cut in half lengthwise
4 scallions, white and green tops, chopped
½ pound coarsely chopped mushrooms
1 medium carrot, grated
½ teaspoon dried thyme
4 Tablespoons butter
3 Tablespoons flour
¾ to 1 cup Greek low-fat or full-fat unflavored yogurt
1½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ cup panko bread crumbs
non-stick cooking spray

Spray a 9″x5″ baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.

Bring a couple of inches of water to a boil in a large pot with a steamer basket. Place the eggplant halves in the steamer and cook until tender, about 20 minutes. Remove from the steamer and allow to cool until you can handle them. Remove the pulp, being careful not to tear the skin. Chop the pulp coarsely, season with ¼ teaspoon salt and set aside. Place the eggplant shells in the baking dish and season them with ¼ teaspoon salt.

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the scallions, mushrooms, and carrots. Sauté for 5 minutes until carrots are limp and the mushrooms have started to lose their liquid. Lower heat to low. Sprinkle with the flour and cook for another minute. Stir in the yogurt and chopped eggplant. Season with the rest of the salt and pepper. Taste for seasonings and add more salt if needed.

Fill each eggplant half with ¼ of the filling. Sprinkle 2 Tablespoons panko crumbs on each eggplant half. Moisten with a generous dose of non-stick cooking spray. Bake for 25-30 minutes until crumbs are browned and filling is very hot.

Adapted from The Good Cook: Vegetables, Time-Life Books, 1979.