Potato Eggplant Aubergine Casserole Recipes

MOUSSAKA: EGGPLANT CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Salt the eggplant. Spread the eggplant slices in one layer and sprinkle with salt. Let set for 30 minutes to "sweat out" its bitterness.
• Turn the broiler of your oven on.
• Prepare a large sheet pan or two and brush with extra virgin olive oil. Pat the eggplant slices dry, removing excess salt, and assemble in one layer on the prepared pan. Brush generously with olive oil.
• Place the sheet pan about 6 inches away from the broiler. Broil the eggplant briefly, turning over so that both sides are softened and golden brown (do not worry if parts of the eggplant are slightly charred, but watch carefully so it doesn't burn). Remove from the oven and set aside.
• Prepare the meat sauce. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet. Cook the onions on medium heat until they turn slightly golden brown, stirring regularly (about 5 minutes). Now add the ground lamb. Cook the lamb until fully browned, tossing regularly. Drain the lamb from any excess fat and return to the skillet. Add the dried oregano, cinnamon, pepper, nutmeg, and hot paprika. Stir to coat the meat with the spices. Add the wine and boil for 1 minute to reduce. Stir in the canned tomatoes, sugar, and broth. Simmer over medium-low heat for 20 to 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat the oven to 350 degrees F and work on the bechamel.
• Make the bechamel. In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat until shimmering but not smoking. Stir in the flour, salt, and pepper. Cook until golden (if needed, added a little more olive oil). Gradually add the warmed milk, whisking continuously. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, over medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes. Add the nutmeg. In a small bowl, whisk a small amount of the hot bechamel mixture with the 2 eggs. Then return all to the pan and stir into the bechamel mixture. Continue to stir or whisk the mixture bringing to a gentle boil for just 2 more minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Remove from the heat and allow to cool and thicken a little more. (You should have a creamy, thick and smooth bechamel sauce.)
• Assemble the moussaka. When ready, lightly oil a 9 ½" x 13" oven-safe baking dish. Layer half the eggplant slices on the bottom. Add the meat sauce and spread well. Add the remaining eggplant slices. Pour the bechamel on top and spread to cover all the eggplant, then sprinkle with the bread crumbs.
• Bake. Bake the moussaka casserole on the center rack of the heated oven for 45 minutes. If you need to, transfer the baking pan to the top rack and broil briefly so that the top of the moussaka gains a nice golden brown color (watch carefully).
• Remove from the heat and let the casserole sit for 10 minutes before cutting through into squares to serve. Enjoy!

POTATO EGGPLANT (AUBERGINE) CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Coat a 3-quart baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
• Layer half of the ingredients in the baking dish.
• Repeat layers.
• Pour water over the top of the layers and cover.
• Bake 60-75 minutes (until tender) at 375°F.
• Uncover and bake an additional 5 minutes (until lightly browned).

TRADITIONAL MOUSSAKA RECIPE WITH EGGPLANTS (AUBERGINES) AND POTATOES

Steps:

• To prepare this Greek moussaka recipe, begin by preparing the eggplants. Remove the stalks from the eggplants and cut them into slices, 1 cm thick. Season with salt and place in a colander for about half an hour.
• and squeeze with your hands, to get rid of the excessive water. Pat them dry and fry in plenty of oil, until nicely colored. Place the fried eggplants on some paper, in order to absorb the oil. (For a lighter version of the traditional Greek moussaka try drizzling the aubergines with some olive oil and bake them for 20 minutes instead of frying them). Set aside when done.
• If you are adding potatoes to your moussaka, now its time to slice them into 0.5cm, half a finger width slices. Fry them or bake them in the same way as the eggplants. Season with some salt and set them aside when done.
• for the moussaka. Heat a large pan to medium-high heat and add the olive oil. Stir in the chopped onions and sauté, until softened and slightly colored. Stir in the mince breaking it up with a wooden spoon and sauté. When it starts to brown, add the the garlic and tomato paste and sauté until the garlic starts to soften. Pour in the red wine to deglaze the meat juices and wait to evaporate. Add the tinned tomatoes, the sugar, a pinch of cinnamon, 1 bay leaf and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Bring to the boil then turn the heat down and simmer with the lid on for about 30 minutes or until most of the juices have evaporated. Set aside when done.
• for the moussaka. Use a large pan to melt the butter over low-medium heat. Add the flour whisking continuously to make a paste. Add warmed milk in a steady stream; keep whisking in order to prevent your sauce from getting lumpy. If the sauce still needs to thicken, boil over low heat while continuing to stir. Its consistency should resemble a thick cream.
• Remove the béchamel pan from the stove and stir in the egg yolks, salt, pepper, a pinch of nutmeg and the most of the grated cheese. Reserve some cheese to sprinkle on top! Whisk quickly, in order to prevent the eggs from turning an omelette! Season with salt to taste. Take one spoon full of béchamel and stir it in the meat sauce. Set the béchamel sauce aside.
• Now its time to assemble the moussaka. For this moussaka recipe you will need a large baking dish, approx. 20x30cm / 8x12inch and 8cm/3 inch deep). Butter the bottom and sides of the pan and layer the potatoes first (if you're using them), then half the eggplants. Pour in all of the meat sauce and spread it out evenly. Add a second layer of eggplants, top with all of the béchamel sauce and smooth out with a spatula.
• . Preheat you oven at 180C/350F and bake your musaka for about 60 minutes or until its crust turns light golden brown. Even though it will be really hard to do so, you should wait for the moussaka to cool down and be just warm to the touch before cutting into pieces. This will prevent the béchamel sauce from pouring out when you're cutting your pieces.
• Serve the Moussaka with a refreshing Traditional Greek Salad and enjoy over a glass of wine!

EGGPLANT, POTATO AND PEPPER CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Place eggplant slices on 2 baking sheets. Lightly salt eggplant on both sides. Let stand 1 hour. Using paper towels, pat eggplant dry, wiping off salt.
• Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, sauté until golden, about 10 minutes. Add tomatoes with their juices and thyme sprigs; bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until mixture is reduced to 2 1/2 cups, breaking up tomatoes with back of spoon, about 20 minutes. Season sauce with salt and pepper. Discard thyme sprigs.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Add oil to 2 large skillets to depth of 1/4 inch. Heat over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add eggplant to skillets and cook until golden, adding more oil to skillets as necessary, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer to paper towels and drain. Working in batches, add potatoes to skillets, cook until golden, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer potatoes to paper towels. Add green peppers to same skillet; sauté until almost tender, about 5 minutes. Transfer to paper towels.
• Layer half of eggplant in 15x10x2-inch glass baking dish. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon thyme. Spoon 1/2 cup sauce over. Top with half of potatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Top with 1 tablespoon thyme. Spoon 1/2 cup sauce over. Place all pepper slices over. Season with salt and pepper. Top with 1 tablespoon thyme. Spoon 1/2 cup sauce over. Top with remaining eggplant. Top with 1 tablespoon thyme. Spoon 1/2 cup sauce over. Top with remaining potatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Top with 1 tablespoon thyme and 1/2 cup sauce.
• Bake uncovered until vegetables are tender, about 40 minutes. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

EGGPLANT, POTATO, TOMATO CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Slice and salt eggplant, and allow to sit for an hour. Rinse salt off.
• Chop tomatoes, and combine with garlic, basil, olive oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, and chilies. Allow to marinate for 30 minutes.
• Spread some tomatoes in the bottom of a 9 x 13" casserole dish. Layer eggplant, potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, potatoes, and finish with the last of the tomatoes.
• Bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes. Top with Parmesan, and bake for 15 more minutes.

TOMATO POTATO AND EGGPLANT (AUBERGINE) CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Combine tomatoes, basil, garlic, a sprinkling of salt and pepper and olive oil, toss and let sit for 1/2 to 1 hour.
• Slice potato and eggplant into roughly 1/4" slices.
• Spray a 9" x 9" tall cassarole dish with non-stick spray.
• Layer as follows; tomato, potato, tomato, eggplant, until there aren't any vegetables left.
• Bake in 350 oven for 1 to 1-1/5 hours, periodically pressing vegetables down into the tomato juices.
• Note: Cheese can be omitted, or you can use romano, mozzerella, or parmasan.
• Serve with a green salad.

POTATO EGGPLANT CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Peel potatoes and eggplant and cut into 1/4 inch thick slices. Lightly brush both sides with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Place on parchment paper and cook in the oven on 400 degrees or until soft. (approx. 15 minutes).
• Saute onions in olive oil until translucent. Add oregano, parsley, basil, cilantro, garlic, fennel, diced tomatoes, and veggie crumbles.
• In 9x13 glass dish, lightly coat the bottom with crushed tomatoes. Layer the bottom of the dish with potatoes. Spread on a layer of "veggie meat" sauce. Then add the layer of spinach. Layer the eggplant and top with remaining veggie sauce. Top the casserole with the soy mozzarella cheese.
• Salt and pepper to taste.
• Cover and bake at 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes.