eggplant Archives - The Midnight Baker

Melanzane

Judith Hannemann — Tue, 01 Oct 2019 23:00:07 +0000

Calling all eggplant lovers. Melanzane is sure to become one of your favorite dinners.

Like Lasagna And Eggplant Parm?

If you like both of those popular casseroles, you are sure to love melanzane.

Unlike eggplant parmesan, this contains pasta. And unlike lasagna, melanzane contains eggplant and lots of it. This is really a dish for those who are crazy about eggplant in general. That would describe me because I’m passionate about the stuff.

I’m sure most of my readers in Europe already know this, but for those who don’t, in the US we call it eggplant. You guys call it aubergine, but any way you say it, it’s delicious!

Melanzane Is Vegetarian Easily Made Vegan

This is a great meatless meal any way you slice it. It’s vegetarian–for those who eat dairy that is.

The white (bechamel) sauce uses milk and I’m pretty sure you can find a vegan substitute. There’s vegan butter too–and surprisingly, it’s quite good. And there are many vegan cheese choices. Therefore this can be made totally vegan if you wish.

If you’re a vegetarian that eats dairy/eggs, it’s all ready to go for you guys.

Set Aside Time For This One

This is another one of those meals that requires some extra steps that I think are worth it. This is not something you can throw together and have it on the table in 30 minutes.

However, you can do a lot of prep the day before. For instance, you can roast the eggplant the day before and that’ll give you a head start. You can also make the whole shebang the day before and refrigerate it. That makes this a great “Monday” meal because you can do weekend prep. And seeing as how the melanzane must sit for 30 minutes before it’s baked, making this up the day before means you can get it right in the oven as soon as you get home.

The Recipe

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Melanzane

A meatless meal that’s a cross between eggplant parmesan and lasagna

Prep Time1

Cook Time45

Course: Dinner, Main, Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: eggplant parmesan, eggplant recipes, lasagna, lenten recipes, meatless casserole recipes, vegan recipe, vegetarian recipe

Servings: 6

Calories: 377kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

2 large or 3 small eggplants sliced into 5mm/¼in rounds
4 tbs olive oil
6 –7 sheets oven-ready lasagne
salt and freshly ground black pepper

White Sauce:

2 tbs butter plus extra for greasing
2 tbs flour
2 1/4 cups hot milk
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 cup Parmesan

Tomato sauce:

2 garlic cloves crushed
1 - 15 oz can chopped tomatoes 444ml
1 cup tomato puree
1/4 cup fresh basil chopped
2 tsp sugar

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400F/200C. Spray a 13 x 9-inch ovenproof dish with non-stick spray.
Arrange the eggplant slices in a single layer on the prepared trays. Drizzle over the oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 20–25 minutes turning the slices over halfway through the cooking time. Set aside.
Lay the oven-ready lasagna in a dish and cover with hot water for 10 minutes to soften.
To make the white sauce: whisk the flour and butter for a few minutes over a high heat to form a roux. Pour the warmed milk into the roux and whisk. Bring to the boil, whisking for a few minutes until smooth. Add the mustard and two-thirds of the Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper and stir. Set aside.
To make the tomato sauce, put all the ingredients in a mixing bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
To assemble, spoon a third of the tomato sauce in the base of the prepared dish, top with a third of the béchamel. Arrange a third of the eggplant on top and 3–3½ sheets of lasagne (you may need to break the lasagne into pieces to make it fit in an even layer). Repeat so you have three layers of sauce and two layers of pasta, sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan.
Leave to stand for 1 hour before cooking, or overnight.
Bake for 35–45 minutes until golden-brown and bubbling. Stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Nutrition

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Thai Eggplant with Basil & Tomatoes

Judith Hannemann — Tue, 09 May 2017 23:00:27 +0000

This Thai eggplant is the Asian version of ratatoulle and it’s fast and easy too.

Thai Eggplant: The Perfect Light Meal

With the summer almost upon us and if you’re like me, you’re looking for quick-cooking meals that are light and don’t heat the kitchen.

This “meatless” meal may be just what you’re looking for. Technically it’s not vegan nor vegetarian because it contains chicken stock and fish sauce. To make it vegan/vegetatian, you can substitute the chicken stock for vegetable stock and leave out the fish sauce entirely.

Even Cooking The Noodles Won’t Heat Your Kitchen

There’s several ways to cook rice noodles, and some do involve cooking.

However, one of the best methods is putting them in a bowl and pouring boiling water over them. More about this method is explained at Kitchn and trust me, it’s easy!

Crank Up The Heat–If You Wish

You don’t have to limit yourself to the 1-2 jalapeños called for in the recipe. You can use as many as you want.

Thai chilis or Carolina Reapers may also be used to replace the jalapeños or in addition to them if you are brave!

Use Unrefined Coconut Oil

This is one ingredient I’d caution not to substitute.

Unrefined coconut oil will impart a wonderful and light flavor to the food where neutral oils will not. The end result will not be as good.

I buy the organic variety of coconut oil. It’s a bit pricy, but it’s something that has many uses in addition to cooking. I’ve often used it on my hands when they get dry irritated during the winter. Coconut oil is also the base for many cosmetics and lotions, if you’re inclined to make your own beauty products.

The Recipe

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Thai Eggplant with Basil & Tomatoes

This Thai eggplant is the Asian version of ratatoulle and it’s fast and easy too.

Prep Time10

Cook Time10

Total Time20

Course: side dishes, skillet dinners

Cuisine: thai

Keyword: asian recipe, eggplant recipes, skillet dinner

Servings: 4

Calories: 125kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

1 large eggplant coarsely cubed don’t peel
2 large Roma plum tomatoes, chopped coarsely
1 tbsp minced garlic
1-2 jalapeño peppers sliced (see NOTES)
1 cup loosely packed basil coarsely chopped (see NOTES)
2 tbsp coconut oil

SAUCE

1/2 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp cornstarch

Instructions

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the coconut oil and let it melt.
Place the eggplant in the skillet and cook over medium-high heat until it starts to brown; about 3 minutes.
Add the tomatoes, garlic, jalapeño and basil; stir well.
In a small bowl, mix the sauce ingredients and add to the pan, stirring well. Let the sauce bubble then cook for 1 minute.
Garnish with additional coarsely chopped basil and serve over wide rice noodles.

Notes

You may seed the jalapeño to reduce it’s heat.
If you can find Thai basil, that works even better in this recipe

Nutrition

*Adapted from BHG

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Crockpot Sausage & Eggplant Baked Ziti

Judith Hannemann — Fri, 06 Nov 2015 00:00:36 +0000

Here’s a baked ziti with oomph! Packed full of delicious eggplant, fire roasted peppers and robust sausage, this slow cooker meal will have them coming back for seconds!

As a BHG Pro Pinner, I get to see a LOT of recipes when I pin for them. This one really caught my eye because I love eggplant to excess!

There were a couple of things I knew I would change from the original recipe. For instance, I thought 2 fennel bulbs were too much. That has a pretty strong flavor and since fennel seed is already in Italian sausage, I didn’t want the extra. Fennel is also called anise, so if you’re making the recipe and your store calls it “anise” as mine does, it’s the right thing to buy.

I also like red pasta sauces a bit on the sweet side, so I added sugar. And of course, I added more cheese!!!

While bulk sausage is much more convenient, if you have any Italian sausage lurking in your freezer as I have, twisting the meat out of the casing in quite easy–and cheaper if you already have the sausages.

I had a pack with 1/2 sweet and 1/2 hot, and that’s what I used here, although the original calls for sweet only.

This was very very good–as I thought it would be. The fennel wasn’t overpowering at all and gave the pasta a lovely understated flavor. The eggplant gets very soft and the blend of the fennel, eggplant and fire roasted tomatoes tastes very much like caponata (an eggplant spread used as an appetizer on crackers).

This is definitely a meal I’d make again!

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Slow Cooker Sausage & Eggplant Baked Ziti

Here’s a baked ziti with oomph! Packed full of delicious eggplant, fire roasted peppers and robust sausage, this slow cooker meal will have them coming back for seconds!

Prep Time25

Cook Time4 10

Total Time4 35

Course: Comfort Foods, pasta, Pork, Slow Cooker

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: baked ziti, eggplant recipes, fennel, italian sausage

Servings: 6

Calories: 397kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

8 oz bulk Italian sausage I used a combo of hot and sweet
14.5 oz can fire roasted diced tomatoes (don't drain)
1 head of fennel also known as anise
1 large eggplant
2 cloves garlic minced
2 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 tsp Italian seasoning
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
6 oz uncooked ziti or penne
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Instructions

Brown sausage meat; drain and place in the crock of a 5-7 quart slow cooker
Peel eggplant and cut into cubes about 1-inch big; add to crock.
Cut stems off fennel, core and slice thinly, add to crock.
Add the garlic, tomato paste, fire roasted tomatoes, water, wine, Italian seasoning, sugar and salt to the crock. Stir well to combine.
Cover and cook on high 3-3 1/2 hours, low 6-7 hours
Add the uncooked ziti--if you cooked on low, turn it up to high to cook the pasta--stirring so the pasta is submerged in the sausage/eggplant mixture.
Cook for 30 minutes on high
Stir and sprinkle with the shredded cheese; cover and cook 10 minutes.
Uncover and let the baked ziti stand on warm setting for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Nutrition

The post Crockpot Sausage & Eggplant Baked Ziti appeared first on The Midnight Baker.

Stuffed Eggplant

Judith Hannemann — Thu, 29 Aug 2013 23:00:00 +0000

Stuffed Eggplant

It’s the stuffing that makes this special! And who would know more about perfect seafood stuffing than Gulf Coast resident Mary from Deep South Dish?

Stuffed Eggplant

If you’ve never visited Deep South Dish, you don’t know what you’ve been missing! Truly the greatest selection of good old-fashioned southern cooking on the net!

Not only will you find the basics, but many many recipes using some of the finest Gulf Coast seafood. The stuffing recipe for this eggplant can also be used to stuff flounder, shrimp and many other forms of seafood. Not for nothing, this stuffing is a meal in itself, and Mary whole-heartedly agrees there!

I eat this for a main course, but you can also buy very small eggplants and use it as a side or an appetizer. And this stuffing is every bit as good without the shrimp or crab, so it can be totally meatless and eliminating the cheese and using coconut oil or vegan butter for saute will make it vegan!

This is so tasty, it is sure to become a family favorite!

The Recipe

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Stuffed Eggplant

The secret to the deliciousness of this stuffed eggplant is the seafood stuffing!

Prep Time15

Cook Time30

Total Time45

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American

Keyword: seafood recipes, seafood stuffing, stuffed eggplant

Servings: 4

Calories: 478kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

2 medium eggplants about 6 inches long
1 recipe Deep South Dish's Seafood Stuffing
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 tbs olive oil

Instructions

Cut each eggplant in half lengthwise. Scoop out flesh, leaving about 1/2-inch "wall." Dice scooped-out flesh and saute along with veggies in the stuffing mix.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
After the stuffing is prepared and in the bowl, mix in the mozzarella cheese.
Brush eggplant skin and inside wall of flesh with olive oil/
Fill cavity of eggplant with stuffing, dividing stuffing evenly between each eggplant half.
Place eggplant on prepared baking sheet and bake 20-30 minutes or until eggplant is soft and stuffing is browned on top.

Nutrition

Stuffed Eggplant

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Scalloped Eggplant Strata

Judith Hannemann — Sat, 27 Jul 2013 23:00:00 +0000

Scalloped Eggplant Strata

Here’s something deliciously different to do with eggplant! A side dish that doubles as a vegetarian main.

This wonderful recipe came my way from good friend and fellow food blogger, Lillian R. from My Recipe Journey. Lillian has tried and tested so MANY recipes, it will make your head spin, and when she puts her stamp of approval on something, you are sure it not only works but tastes great as well!!!

She adapted this recipe from one she found on Group Recipes.com. Lillian made several changes to the original and also increased the recipe to serve her hungry family of four! Her adaptation appears here on her blog.

My adaptations sort of combines Lillian’s and Dugger’s (the original) versions. I think it would taste better preparing the eggplant Lillian’s way, but I chose to do the stovetop method from the original recipes since it was hot and I avoid using my oven for too long. I also found I needed Lillian’s amounts for the custard even though I had mostly 1/2 the amount of everything else.

I added tomatoes for more flavor and color, and instead of plain white bread, used day-old hoagie rolls–which I think would taste and look better.

In any case, you have 3 slightly different versions to choose from here….but you can always run with this and make your own version. That’s the beauty of recipes like this.

For more great family approved down-to-earth meals, make sure to visit Lillian at My Recipe Journey regularly!

Like the casserole dish? It’s my Revol Froisses pie dish in aubergine (which is French for “eggplant!”). Below is the flan dish (which is a tad shallower), but according to Revol, the pie dish will be available shortly.

Scalloped Eggplant Strata

1 medium eggplant, peeled and cut in 1/2-inch cubes
3 medium hoagie rolls, cut in 1-inch cubes
1/4 cup sliced cherry or grape tomatoes
1 tbs dehydrated onion
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups milk
3 eggs
2 tbs butter, melted
extra cheese for topping

Place eggplant in a large saucepan. Add water to cover and 1 tsp of salt. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer for 3 minutes. Drain and set aside.

In a small bowl, beat milk and eggs with the kosher salt, pepper, dehydrated onion and garlic powder. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray or grease a 1.5 quart oven-proof baking dish.

Casserole is assembled in layers which begin and end with the bread cubes. Proceed as follows~~

Place 1/3 of the bread cubes on the bottom of the baking dish. Top with half of the cubed eggplant then top this with half the cheese and half the sliced tomatoes. Repeat, making the final layer, which is the top, all bread cubes.

Drizzle melted butter over the top of the casserole. Pour in the egg/milk mixture. Top with additional cheese (maybe 1/4 cup or so).

Bake at 350 degrees F for 45-60 minutes or until set and topping is crusty and golden brown.

Serves 4 as a main dish and 8 as a side dish.

Scalloped Eggplant Strata

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