Now that my son is on his own in his college town, my husband and I can enjoy some foods he did not enjoy, like VEGETABLES! Now, my son did eat some vegetables, but not very many, so we tended to have the same old vegetables ALL.THE.TIME! They got old because my hubs and I like all sorts of veggies. Greek Eggplant is a vegetarian dish that reminds me of Moussaka. The hint of cinnamon, along with the other spices, gives it that unique Greek flare. We paired this with a salad and called it a day. If you are not Keto, you could pair it with some pasta as well.
Ingredients
2 eggplants
2 Tbsp. + extra virgin olive oil
2 heaping Tbsp. garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
4 Roma tomatoes, chopped
1 8-oz. can tomato sauce
1 can diced tomatoes
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp. each oregano, basil, thyme, greek seasoning
1 tsp. honey
2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 container feta cheese
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. First, place the sliced eggplant rounds in a colander and sprinkle with salt. Make sure that you toss the eggplant in the colander so that it has some salt on all sides. Allow the eggplant to stand for at least 30 minutes. The salt causes the eggplant to sweat, releasing any bitter flavor that the eggplant may have. Rinse the eggplant thoroughly and pat dry.
Heat some oil in a frying pan. Fry the eggplant on both sides until browned. The eggplant will soak up the oil, so add new oil to the pan if needed. Remove and set aside.
Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in the frying pan and saute the garlic for a minute. Add the onion and saute until translucent.
Add the green pepper and cook for a couple of minutes. Add the carrots and cook for a couple of minutes.
Add the chopped fresh tomatoes and cook until bubbly.
Add the tomato sauce and diced tomatoes. Cook and stir until hot. Add the salt and pepper, oregano, thyme, basil, greek seasoning, honey, cinnamon and red wine vinegar. Cook and stir for 5 minutes.
Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. The eggplant will be layered freeform on the baking sheet. For each eggplant, place an eggplant round on the baking sheet. Top with a spoonful, or a little more, of the sauce to cover the eggplant. The amount used depends on how big the eggplant round is. Top the sauce with a sprinkling of feta cheese. Place another eggplant round on top with another spoonful of sauce and feta. Repeat with a third layer, ending with the feta. Repeat this process for each eggplant stack. The number of eggplant stacks depends on the size of the eggplants and how many rounds are cut.
Bake in the oven for 20 minutes until the feta cheese is slightly melted. The feta doesn’t melt too much, but it will become softer. Serve with a side salad.
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