Creole Eggplant Casserole Recipes

EGGPLANT (AUBERGINE) CREOLE CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Wash and slice the eggplant.
• Sprinkle well with some salt in a strainer and let sit for 30 minutes.
• Rinse salt off well, and pat dry on towelling.
• Heat the first amount of oil in a fry pan and saute each slice of eggplant just until golden with brown colourings.
• Arrange eggplant in the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking pan.
• Hint: sometimes I brush oil on my eggplant and place on a cookie sheet, and bake in the oven turning once to brown each side, maybe a total of 12 minutes, instead of the frying.
• Also with the pan frying you might have to add more oil, as the eggplant will absorb the oil.
• (or use peanut oil which does not get too absorbed into vegie.).
• After layering into your baking dish set oven to 350 degrees F.
• Heat the second tablespoon on olive oil in a skillet and saute onion, peppers, and celery for 5 minutes.
• Add the tomatoes and cook two minutes.
• Add the paste, and water and spices.
• Cook until thickened.
• Pour over the eggplant evenly.
• Sprinkle with the romano cheese.
• Sprinkle with the cheddar cheese.
• Sprinkle with the black pepper freshly ground.
• Bake in the oven until cheese is melted and browned and all is heated thru.
• approximately 15 to 20 minutes.
• As you can tell from this recipe each item is already cooked to your preference before going into the oven for final 15 minutes.
• So the thickness of the sauce and doness of the eggplant is already almost to its peak.
• Alternative topping.
• 3 whole eggs, a quarter cup of cheese grated and 1 cup bread crumbs, make a paste and smear over the top evenly (like a pie crust) then place in oven to bake the 20 minutes.

CREOLE EGGPLANT CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Peel the eggplants and cut them into large cubes. Place the cubes in a large saucepan and sprinkle them with 1 teaspoon of the salt. Add 2 cups water and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and let cook until the eggplant is soft, about 45 minutes. Drain off the water and mash the eggplant well with a potato masher, or puree in a food processor or blender.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F Brown the ground beef in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Pour off the excess fat. Add the onions, bell pepper, celery, and garlic. Stir well, cover, and let cook until the vegetables are transparent, about 20 minutes. Stir in the thyme, the rest of the salt and the peppers, and cook for 5-7 minutes more. Mix in the pureed eggplant, cook 2 minutes more, and remove from heat. Stir in 1 3/4 cups of the bread crumbs.
• Butter a casserole dish and sprinkle with the remaining bread crumbs. Pour in the eggplant mixture and bake in the oven until bubbling and just beginning to brown, about 20 minutes.

CREOLE EGGPLANT CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Peel, clean, devein and rinse shrimp. Depending on the size of the shrimp, they can be chopped into a smaller size if desired. Pat dry with paper towels and place in a bowl. Add a generous sprinkle of creole seasoning, mix well and set aside.
• Peel the eggplant and cut into small cubes about 1/2 inch square; place in a bowl and mix in a little (not much) kosher salt. Set aside.
• Chop the yellow onions, green onions and garlic. If using fresh tomatoes, peel them using the boiling water blanch method (see Hints and Tips). Drain the tomatoes if using canned. Measure the butter, creole seasoning and bread crumbs.
• Melt butter over medium heat in Dutch Oven.
• Sauté the yellow onions in the butter until starting to clear, about 5 to 8 minutes.
• Add the garlic and saute until the garlic is aromatic, probably about 2 minutes.
• Add green onions, salt and pepper and 2 tablespoons of creole seasoning. Mix well and cook about 2 minutes.
• Crush the tomatoes by hand as you add them to the Dutch oven and mix well. Saute for about 5 minutes.
• Add the eggplant cubes a little at a time but don't add any of the water that has gathered in the bottom of the bowl. Mix the eggplant cubes and sauteed onions together very well.
• Lower the temperature to medium, cover the Dutch oven and simmer until the eggplant is starting to soften, about 15 minutes. The eggplant will give off a lot of water that will partially cook off.
• When soft and starting to reduce, smash down some of the eggplant with a wooden spoon.
• Add the shrimp and mix well and continue to cook, uncovered, for about 10 or 15 minutes or while the liquid evaporates.
• Remove from the heat and add the bread crumbs a little at a time and mix well. The eggplant should tighten up a little, but don't over do the bread crumbs. Taste for seasoning.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Spread a thin layer of butter inside of an oven proof casserole or baking dish.
• Pour the eggplant mix into baking dish and spread out softly.
• Sprinkle a little bread crumbs on top and place about 6 small dots of butter on top
• Bake in 350 degrees Fahrenheit preheated oven for about 30 minutes or until bubbly on edges and browned a little on top.

EGGPLANT CASSEROLE

Steps:

• In a saucepan, bring the water to a boil; add eggplant. Boil for 5-8 minutes or until tender;drain and set aside. , In a skillet, cook beef, onion and green pepper over medium heat until the meat is no longer pink; drain. Add the tomatoes, salt and pepper. Cook and stir for 5 minutes or until tomato is tender. Remove from the heat. Stir in milk, egg and eggplant; mix well., Transfer to a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Toss bread crumbs and butter; sprinkle over top. Bake, uncovered, at 375° for 30 minutes or until heated through.

EGGPLANT PARMESAN CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Cut 5 crosswise slices from center area of each eggplant, about 1/2-inch thick, to total 10 slices. Peel and dice remaining pieces of eggplant.
• Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until oil is very hot. Sprinkle eggplant slices lightly with a pinch of salt and cook in hot skillet in batches until slightly softened, about 3 minutes per side. Set eggplant slices aside on paper towels.
• Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in skillet and cook garlic for about 10 seconds; add diced eggplant and season with a pinch of salt and red pepper flakes. Saute until eggplant is softened, about 5 minutes. Pour in marinara sauce and water. Turn heat to medium-low and cook until eggplant is tender, about 15 minutes; stir occasionally. If sauce gets too thick, add a little more water.
• Combine ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, pepperjack cheese, a pinch of salt, and a pinch black pepper in a bowl until thoroughly combined. Spread about 2 tablespoons cheese mixture over each eggplant slice. Fold eggplant slices in half to enclose the cheese mixture.
• Spread about half the sauce into an 8x8-inch baking dish. Lay folded eggplant slices in a single layer into the dish. Spread remaining sauce over eggplant slices.
• Combine bread crumbs, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, and 2 tablespoons olive oil in a bowl; mix thoroughly. Spread crumb mixture over eggplant casserole.
• Bake in the preheated oven until casserole is bubbling and crumbs are browned, 35 to 40 minutes.