Eggplant Bake

We had this eggplant bake the other night. We ate it instead of pasta and with a side salad. It was very satisfying and tasty and was not too much of an effort to make.

We have been reducing our carb intake since Christmas. Please don't worry, as there will still be lots of lovely 'carby' recipes on the blog.  The man of the house and I have a bit more of a spring in our steps and are feeling good about this change in our diet.

Anyway, enough about us. Back to the recipe. I've made two versions of this eggplant dish. One was with a spicy mince with kidney beans (also used for tacos) and the other was with a plain Bolognese sauce with zucchini slices.

This dish is a good way to increase your vegetable intake - add lots of vegetables into the sauce or into the dish. Vegetables such as zucchini, pumpkin or sweet potato thickly sliced would work well. Or add some tinned sweet corn, diced carrot and celery, sliced leeks - you get the idea.

Serve the baking dish to the table and serve with a side salad for a great family dinner.

What you'll need

For basic eggplant bake, to serve two people with a little leftover.

1 large eggplant, sliced into 1cm thick slices
2 cups of homemade Bolognese sauce or 2 cups or prepared taco mince with kidney beans
1/2 cup crumbled feta
Other vegetables as you'd like. I used a zucchini, sliced lengthways.
Vegetable oil for frying.
Salt and pepper.

What to do

Heat a large pan (or two medium pans) over high heat with some vegetable oil. Once the oil is hot, add the eggplant slices and pan fry on both sides until golden brown and soft. The eggplant will soak up lots of the oil, but if you press it gently at the end of the cooking with a spoon while still in the pan, much of the oil will come out. Drain the eggplant well on paper towel and season with salt and pepper. Repeat the same process with whatever other vegetables you are using. The vegetables should be cooked through and soft before you add them to the baking dish.

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Into the bottom of a small baking dish, place 1/2 cup of your meat sauce.  Make a layer of eggplant (or other vegetables) over the meat sauce. Add another cup of meat sauce, another layer of vegetables, then finish off with whatever meat sauce is left.

Crumble the feta over the top, and place in the oven until the sauce is bubbling and the feta is golden brown. This will take about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes, then serve to the table.