Eggplant Casserole

Eggplant Casserole is delicious and reasonably straightforward to make. It’s has a similar taste to Eggplant Parmesan. It is made with fried Eggplant,  a simple Homemade Red Sauce, sliced provolone cheese, and topped with finely shredded mozzarella. It’s the perfect pairing with pasta for a flavorful meatless meal.

This recipe for Eggplant is super easy to make. However, it does take a little time if you are starting from scratch, so I have included a few time-saving tips to use when you want to have the Eggplant Casserole on the table as quickly as possible. So be sure to scan the blog post for tips, tricks, and other helpful information.

 

 

 

Tips for choosing the right Eggplant:

1. Does the Eggplant feel heavy for its size? Pick up a few eggplants and feel the difference. Eggplants should feel heavy for the size, which indicates the inner flesh is fresh and in good condition.

2. The skin should be smooth and blemish-free. Choose an eggplant with a taut firm shiny surface, with no bruises, wrinkles, or blemishes, and very vivid in color.

3. The Eggplant should feel firm to the touch. When picking the Eggplant, it should feel firm with a slight give or bounceback to it. It should not feel soft.  If the Eggplant feels soft, it could mean that it is overripe. 

4. Look for small to medium eggplants to avoid the bitter taste that larger eggplants sometimes have due to the larger seeds.

5. Look at the stem of the Eggplant. The stem should be green in color, indicating it has been freshly picked. Avoid stems that are darker, brown, or moldy looking.

6. Look for male eggplants. Male eggplants have fewer seeds and are usually less bitter. To sex an eggplant, look at the indentation at the bottom. If it’s deep and shaped like a dash, it’s a female. If it’s shallow and round, it’s a male eggplant.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eggplant Casserole

• Five cloves of Fresh garlic 

• One small onion

• 1/2 of a cup Fresh organic Italian parsley

• Kosher salt

• One pinch of pepper flakes

• Three Tablespoons organic cold-pressed Extra-virgin olive oil 

• One- 28-ounce Jar of organic crushed tomatoes 

• Five leaves of fresh basil

• Three small to medium eggplants

• Cooking oil to fry

• Two cups All-purpose flour

• Twelve slices of provolone cheese

• Eight-ounces Shredded mozzarella cheese

• Cooking spray

 

 

 

Equipment needed:

• Food chopper

• Kitchen knife

• Cutting board

• Baking rack

• large metal baking sheet

• Two large metal skillets

• Kitchen Thongs

• A large plate or plater

• 9×10 baking dish

 

 

 

 

 

 

Method for Eggplant Casserole recipe

1. Preheat the oven to 350 Degrees F

2. Remove the skins from onions and garlic, add the onions, garlic, fresh parsley,  to a food chopper, set the processor to the fine chop setting. Proceed to chop.

3. Place a large deep metal skillet on a burner set to a Low-medium heat setting. Add the chopped garlic and onions to the skillet. Saute for 2-3 minutes. Then add the parsley and the crushed tomatoes, turn the heat up to medium-high and cover with a lid until the sauce stops exploding bubbles, which will take about 45 seconds to a  minute. Reduce the heat at this time to low-medium heat, remove the lid, and stir. Add in the kosher salt and red pepper flakes at this time. Keep the sauce at a good simmer to cook down properly. This process will take about 8-9 minutes. Continue to stir off and on. In the end, add the torn basil leaves, stir, and remove them from the heat at this time. Taste the sauce to see if more salt is required.

4. Meanwhile, slice the eggplant into rounds and place it on the baker’s wrack that has been placed over the top of a metal baking sheet. Lightly salt the Eggplant on one side and let sit about 10 minutes and then flip over and salt the other side to remove excess water. Let sit for about ten more minutes to drain. 

5. Place a metal frying pan on a burner with a heat setting of medium, add the cooking oil, and let heat.

6. Place two cups of all-purpose flour on a large plate ( I usually place one cup at a time) season the flour with a little kosher salt if desired. Dredge eggplant rounds through the flour coating all sides. Place in the metal frying pan. Cook the eggplant until the flour has turned a golden color and then flip to the other side to repeat. Careful not to over brown.

7. Once the Eggplant has cooked, place the rounds on a metal baker’s wrack to drain the excess oil. (I set mine over a metal cooking sheet)

8. Treat a 9×10 casserole dish with cooking spray, then add a few spoons of sauce to the bottom. Layer 1/2 of the eggplant rounds on the bottom of the casserole dish, add about six thin slices of provolone cheese to the top. Next, add a layer of sauce to the top. Layer the remainder of the eggplant rounds on top of the sauce, then add another layer of sauce to the eggplant and six more thin slices of provolone cheese. Once done, add eight ounces of shredded mozzarella cheese to the top.

9. Place the Eggplant Casserole in a 350-degree oven for 35 minutes uncovered.

10. Remove the Eggplant Casserole from the oven and serve with pasta and salad.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Frequently asked questions about Eggplant Casserole

1. Can I use cooking oil instead of the organic cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil when making the sauce? I am going to say I would prefer not as the taste is like apples to oranges. You want your sauce to have a quality taste.

2. I don’t have time to make the sauce what can I do? You can tackle this in a few ways, you can use your own premade homemade sauce if you have any on hand or you can purchase a ready-made organic quality brand of jar sauce. Be sure to buy a sauce you really enjoy though. I can not stress a quality brand enough. This will also save 15 minutes’ time.

3. Can I use olive oil to fry the eggplant? This is a tricky situation but can be done if you reduce the heat and slow fry. You will need to watch the heat as olive oil has a very low smoke point and can burn very easily.

4. Do I have to flour and fry the eggplant? Can I just skip those steps? No, you don’t have to bread and fry. If you are following a low carb diet you can skip those steps and simply follow the rest of the recipe. It still turns out fabulous! It also saves a good 15 minutes of time.

5. Do I need to peel the eggplant? No, you do not. I never peel mine.

6. I don’t like the skin on my eggplant, can I peel it? Absolutely! It will still hold up in the recipe just fine.

7. I don’t like provolone cheese, what can I replace it with? You can use Asiago in place of it or double up on the mozzarella cheese. 

8. Can I freeze this casserole? Yes, you can. Make sure to place it in a freezer-safe container. It will store up to 2-3 months if stored properly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pin this delicious Eggplant Casserole recipe for later!

 

 

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