Baked Eggplant and Sausage

      This is the time of year when eggplants are plentiful and delicious! One thing I like to do is make meals that can be easily frozen and then enjoyed in the winter. Not everything works for that purpose, but this dish does. Even so, the ingredients here make a smallish casserole and could serve two with just a few "lunch" leftovers.

      We're just going to fry up some eggplant and make a casserole, lasagna style, with layers of hard cooked egg, fresh mozzarella and sausage slices. Add a little tomato sauce and top with freshly made balsamella sauce. Bake, then let sit for at least 15 minutes and serve plain or on cooked grain or rice. I used couscous today.

      A wide variety of wines would accompany this dish very well because it is mild and soft on the palate. You could use a full bodied wine to complement, or a soft and not too dry white to enhance it. I would initially think in the direction of a Brunello for the red or a Vouvray for the white. But not tonight!!

      I am not a great fan of West Coast Cabernets. They tend to be too full and big, with a cloying aftertaste that I just don't prefer. Maybe the grapes grow too well there. Grapes that grow where they shouldn't want to (like the side of a volcano) seem to produce wines that are more in my wheelhouse. But I realize that I'm probably in the minority here. So I purchased one of the 1878 cases produced of John Bookwalter's 2008 Foreshadow Washington State Cabernet, basically for the pleasure of visiting friends. The wine is just coming into its own and will only improve over the next several years. I have to admit, while this is a big ripe and round wine, it does not have the negative attributes I would expect from, say, a California Cabernet. Maybe the Columbia Valley, Yakima Valley and Red Mountain are more interesting places to grow. Also there is no Merlot in the blend! In fact (don't tell anyone) I sort of enjoy this wine with the proper food match. It is definitely a wine to accompany food.

Ingredients:

2             small Eggplants

most of the ingedients

3    links Italian Sausage (hot or mild)

1    HB   Egg

6    oz     Fresh Mozzarella Cheese

2    cups   Tomato Sauce

2             Eggs, beaten

¼   cup  Fresh Parsley, chopped

               Dusting Flour

               Olive Oil for frying

2    tsp    Sugar

1    tsp    Cinnamon

               Fresh Nutmeg to grate

               salt & pepper to taste

               Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese to grate

2    cups   Balsamella Sauce:

Balsamella Sauce ingredients

⅓ cup     butter

4   Tbs     flour

2   cups   Warm Milk

1             Egg, well beaten

2   Tbs     Parmigiano Cheese, grated

½ tsp      Nutmeg, grated

Preparation (to be done earlier in the day, or the day before):

1    Hard boil one egg

2    Peel Eggplants and slice into ¼" slices. Place slices in a non-reactive colander and liberally salt each layer with coarse Kosher-type salt. Place a bowl under the colander and a weight on top. This will drain bitter juices from the Eggplant. Let this drain from about 2 hours to overnight. When finished, dispose of juices, rinse salt off Eggplants and squeeze them dry with a kitchen towel (or paper towels).

using marble mortar to press eggplant

3    Cook Sausage in a fry pan until nicely browned on outside, and just cooked on inside.

4    In a small bowl, mix sugar and cinnamon.

5    Grate about ½ cup Parmigiano cheese, divide it into two parts. One with about 2 Tbs. and the other all the rest (for the casserole), reserve.

Create Casserole:

1    Beat 2 Eggs in a shallow bowl. Mix in about 1 Tbs chopped parsley.

2    In a metal fry pan, heat oil to hot.

3    Sprinkle Dusting Powder on both sides of Eggplant slices.

preparing to fry eggplant

4    Dip Eggplant into beaten egg and fry, in batches, until golden on each side.

5    Remove to paper towels and sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar while they are very hot.

frying eggplant: note cinnamon-sugar

6    When all Eggplants are done, slice Sausages into ¼" slices.

7    Slice fresh Mozzarella as thinly as you can.

8    Slice HB Egg.

9    Assemble Casserole as you would a lasagna:

·      coat bottom with Tomato Sauce

·      layer about one-third the Eggplant

·      cover with a little Tomato Sauce

·      sprinkle on a little Parmigiano

·      layer all the Sausage

·      layer about half the remaining Eggplant

·      layer the Eggs

·      layer the Mozzarella slices

·      spread Tomato Sauce over this layer

·      sprinkle any left-over Parsley and any remaining Parmigiano

·      layer the rest of the Eggplant

 10  The final step is to pour the Balsamella Sauce over the Casserole, but you must make it fresh. So do so now:

·         beat one Egg in a small bowl

·         melt Butter in a 4 cup sauce pan

·         add Flour and cook gently, while stirring, for about 5 minutes

butter and flour

·         while stirring, warm Milk in microwave for a few minutes

·         gradually add Milk and stir over moderate heat until sauce bubbles and becomes silky

·         grate Nutmeg and add Parmigiano to sauce, mixing in

·         remove from heat

·         mix a tablespoon of sauce to the egg

·         then quickly whisk the egg mixture into the sauce

 11  Pour all the Balsamella Sauce over top layer of Eggplant making the Casserole well coated.

 12  Bake in a preheated 375F oven for 45 ─ 60 minutes, until top is golden.

finished baking

 13  Heat some Tomato Sauce to pour on finished dish.

 14  Remove from oven and let stand for at least 15 minutes before you serve.

Baked Eggplant over Couscous

   Enjoy!!