About a month ago I resolved to clean out my freezer a bit. I have a tendency to buy meats when they are on sale, stick them in my freezer, and then forget about them. I found both sweet and hot italian sausage in my freezer and decided to try out some new recipes with them.
I did a quick search on foodnetwork.com (which, by the way, I am completely addicted to. I think I check it 4 times a day just to search for new and interesting recipes to try) and found this recipe for Eggplant and Sweet Sausage bake. I don't usually like to make casseroles but I do love eggplant, so I figured I'd give it a try.
Ingredients:
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 pound sweet Italian sausage, removed from the casing
1 medium eggplant peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes (about 1 pound)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup chopped onions
1/4 cup chopped bell peppers
1/4 cup chopped celery
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons chopped parsley leaves
1 cup fine dried bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
To make the casserole:
-Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
-Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
-Add the sausage and cook until brown.
-Add the eggplant, salt, cayenne, and black pepper. Saute for 2 to 3 minutes, or until slightly soft.
-Add the onions, bell peppers, and celery and saute for 2 to 3 minutes, or until slightly wilted.
-Add the thyme, oregano, and garlic. Stir and cook for about 1 minute.
-Add the chicken stock and parsley and cook for about 3 minutes, stirring.
-Remove from the heat and add the bread crumbs and cheese. Mix well.
-Spoon into a casserole dish and bake for about 45 minutes, or until bubbly and golden brown.
I'm always trying to make recipes a little more healthful so I used less oil than it called for. Since I was using pork sausage, I got a fair amount of fat from that. Eggplant sucks up oil though, so I did have to add some oil. I only added as much as was needed though.
This turned out to be a very tasty casserole but it was a bit too spicy for my taste. I like things a little spicy, but this was too much for me. My spicy-food-loving boyfriend was crazy about it though. I think next time I'll either use hot sausage or only use 1/4 tsp cayenne.
It's not the prettist dish (as you can see from the photos) but it was rather yummy. I'll definitely be making it again in the future.
Showing posts with label eggplant. Show all posts
Showing posts with label eggplant. Show all posts
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Emeril's eggplant and sweet sausage bake
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Eggplant Caponata
One of my favorite examples of culinary alchemy (discovered a few summers ago when our co-op farm stuck us with several pounds of eggplant that we didn't know what to do with) is Mario Batali's great recipe for eggplant caponata. You can definitely identify all the major components - the tomato sauce, the balsamic vinegar, the currants, and of course the eggplant - but it's still kind of a mystery to me how these flavors come together so beautifully and make another taste entirely.
Also a bonus, it cooks up really fast - prep time about 5-10 minutes, depending on your knife skillz, and another 15 minutes to cook. Technically, a caponata is designed to be served on crusty bread as an appetizer, but I think it works just as well as a main dish, served with pasta. Definitely a decent vegetarian option!
Recipe breakdown and commentary:
1/2 c. virgin olive oil [you can use less if you're mindful of calories - I usually use 1/4 c., or just enough to cover the bottom of the pan]
1 large Spanish onion [any type of onion is fine]
3 Tbs. pine nuts [TOTALLY optional - pine nuts are friggin pricey]
3 Tbs. currants [nobody actually has currants in their pantry. Chop up a handful of raisins instead, it's pretty much the same thing.]
1 Tbs. hot chili flakes [adjust to taste, I'm a spice wuss]
2 medium/1 large eggplant (yield ~4 c.)
2 Tbs. sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp. fresh thyme leaves (or 1/2 tsp. dried)
1/4 c. basic tomato sauce [if you don't make your own tomato sauce - although you really should, because it's easy - use any simple pasta sauce. Nothing too fancy or creamy!]
1/3 c. balsamic vinegar
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
How to make it:
Chop up your onion and eggplant. Size of dice/chop is up to you; I like a decent size slice of onion and about a 1/4 inch chop on the eggplant. If you want to have this over pasta, start the water boiling now.
In a large 12 to 14-inch saute pan over medium heat, heat the olive oil until hot but not smoking. Add the onions, pine nuts (optional), currants and chili flakes to the oil. Saute for 4 to 5 minutes, basically until the onions are translucent.
Add the eggplant, sugar, cinnamon, and cocoa and continue to cook for 5 more minutes. Your pasta water should be boiling happily by now, so start the noodles. A 1 lb. bag will make more than enough to go along with this recipe. [I usually just make enough for two servings (six handfuls of ziti) and set aside the extra caponata for leftovers, but you can do it all at once if you prefer.]
Add the thyme, tomato sauce, and balsamic vinegar. If you don't have enough liquid to really cover the bottom of the pan, add a little bit of water. Bring the mixture to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer the mixture about 5 minutes.
After you turn the heat down on the caponata, check on the pasta. It's probably al dente (firm but doesn't stick to your teeth) by now. Drain it and transfer it back to the pot you cooked it in. When the caponata is done simmering, transfer [some or all, depending on how much pasta you made] to the pasta pot. Give it a good stir, salt and pepper to taste, and serve.
Mangia!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
