Blanche Franciss Eggplant Casserole Recipes

MAMA'S OH-SO-SAVORY LAMB AND EGGPLANT CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Place eggplant in a colander set in a bowl or the sink; sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt and toss to coat. Let eggplant stand for at least 1 hour. Rinse off the bitter liquid and excess salt and drain well.
• Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in onion and celery; cook and stir until onion has softened and turned translucent and celery is fragrant, about 5 minutes.
• While vegetables are cooking, combine ground cumin, oregano, rosemary, paprika, mint, salt, and black pepper in a small bowl or mortar and pestle and mix well; this is the lamb seasoning (see Cook's Note). Set seasoning aside.
• Stir eggplant cubes and garlic into the vegetables in the skillet, mixing well, and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Add chopped tomatoes and sprinkle with half of the lamb seasoning mixture. Reserve remaining seasoning. Stir gently and cook for 5 minutes more.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 2-quart casserole dish.
• Pour chicken broth and half the can of tomato sauce into the skillet and simmer for 10 minutes; add a little water if the sauce starts to get dry. Transfer the sauce to the prepared casserole dish.
• Return the skillet to the stove over medium-high heat and heat the reserved tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Place ground lamb into skillet and sprinkle with remaining seasoning mixture. Brown lamb in the hot oil, stirring frequently, until the meat is evenly browned; it should look like imperfect meatballs.
• Gently transfer the lamb to the casserole dish, pushing it down into the vegetable mixture so that it is at least partially submerged. Stir fresh lemon juice into the remaining tomato sauce and pour the sauce over the casserole.
• Bake uncovered for 45 minutes to 1 hour, depending upon how tender you like your vegetables.

BLANCHE FRANCIS'S EGGPLANT CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Boil eggplants until soft, 10 minutes or less depending on size. Cut in half lengthwise, place flat side down and scrape the skins off with a knife. Chop the meat into 1-inch chunks and drain in a colander.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat oil in a pan and saute peppers, onions, celery and garlic together in oil until limp. Add eggplants. Cook over medium heat until most of the moisture is gone. Add shrimps, cook another 10 minutes and remove to a large bowl.
• Fold in crab meat and parsley, cool briefly and fold in 2/3 cup bread crumbs, salt and pepper.
• Spread the mixture in an 8-by-14 dish and cover with the remaining bread crumbs and the paprika. Dot with butter cubes. Bake 80 minutes, or until brown. Serve hot or at room temperature.

OLD FASHIONED EGGPLANT CASSEROLE - A SOUTHERN EGGPLANT CASSEROLE RECIPE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a 2 quart baking dish (or 8x8 inch) with nonstick cooking spray.
• Cook peeled, diced eggplant in boiling water until fork tender; drain well.
• In a large bowl, combine cooked eggplant, beaten eggs, crushed crackers, milk, shredded cheese, melted butter and salt and pepper.
• Pour into prepared baking dish.
• Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

BEEF AND EGGPLANT CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray an 8-inch square glass pan with cooking spray.
• Place eggplant slices on paper towels and sprinkle with salt. Top slices with additional paper towels; allow salt to draw off some of the moisture, 30 to 45 minutes. Press down on paper towels to get as much moisture out as you can.
• Combine cornmeal, flour, paprika, cinnamon, and ginger in a bowl. Dredge eggplant slices in mixture.
• Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Place floured eggplant slices in pan and cook until edges start to brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Flip; cook until crisp on edges but still soft in centers, 3 to 4 minutes more. Remove from heat and set aside.
• Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook and stir ground beef in the hot skillet until browned and crumbly, 5 to 7 minutes. Add garlic, onion, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Cook and stir until onions are softened and translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
• Layer eggplant slices to cover bottom of the prepared pan; follow with ground beef, 1/2 can diced tomatoes, 1/2 the Cheddar cheese and 1/2 the Monterey Jack cheese. Repeat layers, starting with eggplant slices. Dredge any remaining eggplant slices in Parmesan cheese and place on top of casserole.
• Bake in the preheated oven until cheese is melted and bubbling and top is golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes.

LUBY'S BAKED EGGPLANT CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Bake Mexican cornbread per packet directions. Cut into halves after baking as you will only use 1/2 (approx 8x4x1").
• Note: If you know how to make Mexican cornbread from scratch, it's better than the individual packets, but the packets will do. Slice bacon into small 1/8-1/4" pieces and fry in a deep skillet until almost done (brown but not crispy).
• Dice eggplant, onion, and tomato into 1/4-1/2" pieces.
• Add first onion to skillet and saute about 5 minutes on med-low. Add eggplant, tomato, salt, pepper, garlic powder, corn, margarine and saute another 5-7 minutes. Everything is now becoming transparent and starting to mesh together nicely.
• Add chicken or celery soup, mix in, then add American cheese and stir until cheese has fully melted into mixture.
• Take half the cornbread you baked, crumble it, and stir into the mixture. Pour into 9x3" round casserole dish or comparable square one and cover with foil.
• Bake at 350°F for 40-50 minutes or until internal temperature is 165°F Remove foil and cover with shredded cheddar for final 10 minutes of baking. Do not let cheddar turn dark.

MISS ELLIE'S EGGPLANT (AUBERGINE) CASSEROLE

Steps:

• boil or steam eggplant until soft.
• Drain well and mash.
• In seperate bowl,mix next 4 ingredients, then add eggplant mixture.
• In a buttered casserole dish, beginning with crackers, layer eggplant and crackers, ending with crackers.
• Dot with butter on top.
• 350 oven 1 hour or until golden browned on top.