I remembered the eggplant this week. I would have felt really stupid if I hadn’t, because Hubby and I talked about how much I hoped for eggplant and jalapeños in the share. Here’s the original recipe that I found over at Chow.com, and here’s what I did:
Ingredients:
- 2 small eggplants
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup feta
- 1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
- 1 large onion
- enchilada sauce
Preparation:
- Slice eggplants ¼” thick. Sprinkle with salt and allow to sit for 30 minutes
- Meanwhile, dice onion and saute until golden.
- Rinse the eggplant to remove salt and place on a baking sheet sprayed with non-stick spray.
- Broil eggplant slices for 4-5 minutes. Brush with olive oil and continue to broil for another 4-5 minutes or until tops become golden.
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Mix cheeses together.
- In a large casserole dish, put 1/3 of the sauce, followed by 1/3 of the eggplant, 1/3 of the onion and 1/3 of the cheese mixture. Repeat layers two more times.
- Bake casserole for 15-18 minutes, or until cheeses have melted and the top is slightly brown.
The Verdict:
I paired this with more corn tortillas, Mexican Rice, Limey Cabbage, and Refried Beans (how’s that for side dishes!). Okay, I’ll admit that I needed Hubby’s help with the corn tortillas and with the Mexican Rice. But at least there was more than one dish!
Here’s how I felt about this casserole: it was fine. It wasn’t great. I couldn’t really taste the eggplant that much. I ended up putting some of everything on my plate, and then scooping it into a tortilla to eat. When it was time to put the leftovers away, we put beans and rice in with the casserole and mixed it all up. It will be a good taco/burrito filling for the next few days for easy meals. I don’t think I’m likely to make this dish again, since it wasn’t terribly great. But I’m glad I got to try it, so I know to try something else with our next eggplant.
