It’s finally starting to feel like Fall so I’m making a traditional Provincial summer dish called Gratin d’Aubergines. A gratin is any dish with bread crumbs or cheese that has been baked to a golden brown.
Call me crazy, but eggplant parm (which is a pretty close equivalent) feels like Fall to me with those deep purples and reds and hot tomatoey sauce with cheese galore. I must have been heavily influenced by the eggplant parmesan of my childhood or I wouldn’t have thought to add mozzarella to a gratin. I mean geesh! Who does that?
Anyway, I just finished two plates full and I’m reclining on the couch with my hand on my forehead still dreaming of each delicious bite.
Actually I’m typing up the blog post so that you too can create this heavenly dish for dinner. Seriously. Tonight. Don’t wait!
Preheat the oven to 425°F or 210°C, then take 3 medium to large eggplants. (A word here about eggplant: Helen Nichols has written about their benefits at Well-Being Secrets if you’d like to read more about it. You can click here).
Slice them about this thick.
Take some olive oil
(this was a gift – fine stuff, huh?)
and drizzle it over the eggplants. It probably ends up being 2 Tablespoons.
Sprinkle some salt over the slices
and stick them in the oven for 20 minutes.
Til they look like this.
See that steam?
It takes two trays of eggplant, and while the second tray of eggplant is baking … (which gives you just enough time to empty the dishwasher and load the breakfast dishes. What? You do that in the morning before you go to work while I can’t manage to get around to it as a SAHM?),
… take the equivalent of a large onion and 4 cloves of garlic.
Heat a tablespoon of olive oil
and brown the onions/garlic before adding 2 jars of tomato-basil sauce. Mine was about 2 lbs worth.
Now you need to get the cheese ready. You’ll need 4 balls of mozzarella, about ¾ cup grated emmental (Swiss) and ½ cup of parmesan.
Let that simmer a bit and when the onions are soft, spread a layer on the bottom of the pan and cover it with a layer of eggplant.
Then some more tomato sauce, followed by slices of mozzarella,
followed by more tomato sauce, more eggplant, more mozzarella until it looks like THIS.
Then (in a near swoon)
sprinkle the grated Swiss cheese and parmesan over the top.
Bake for about 20 minutes (at the same temperature that you baked the eggplant slices)
until it looks like this.
Woah. That’s alotta cheese. Lest my conscience keep me awake at night, let me add a disclaimer:
You don’t have to put as much cheese as I did.
Can you see the melted mozzarella being pulled through the steam just exuding from this piping hot dish?
No, you don’t have to put as much cheese.
Good luck.
- 3 medium to large eggplants
- olive oil
- sea salt
- 1 large onion
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 2 large jars of tomato-basil sauce (600 grams each)
- 4 balls of mozzarella, about a pound total (half kilo)
- ¾ cup grated Swiss cheese
- ½ cup grated parmesan
- Preheat the oven to 210°C or 425°F.
- Wash and slice the eggplant.
- Drizzle olive oil over the slices on a baking sheet.
- Sprinkle salt over the eggplant and bake for 20 minutes until brown.
- Repeat a second time with the rest of the eggplant.
- Chop up the onions and garlic and brown them with a tablespoon olive oil.
- Add the tomato sauce to the onions and garlic.
- Spread some tomato sauce on the bottom of a baking dish, then
- layer the ingredients as follows: eggplant, tomato sauce, mozzarella, repeat.
- When all the ingredients are layered, sprinkle the parmesan and Swiss cheese over the top.
- Bake in the still-hot oven for 20 minutes.
The more cheese, the better. YUM.
One of my favorite dishes!
Looks soooo good!
This looks glorious and perfect for a crisp autumn day!
This looks delicious and it absolutely counts as Fall food. I am not sure my kids would like it though, darn. As for the muffin holders I found them at ‘Sur La Table’ an upscale kitchen supply store. They are online as well.
That looks so good!! I did something similar recently but with zucchini.
There is no such thing as too much cheese.
What do you mean ‘don’t use as much cheese’???
Absolutely!!!
Oh yes I do have to put in more cheese! More cheese, more cheese! Yummo.
Oh that looks so good! Now I’m hungry at midnight almost!
Yum! I also like moussaka which is a fall/winter dish with eggplant as well.
Those eggplants are gorg. This looks so good. And I too plan to add a lot of cheese! MMM
Eggplant is only one of my faves- by far! I adore this!
Also? Friend, you rocked this post! It’s gorgeous!
(And delicious, but that’s another story!)
This looks so insanely delicious to me, that my MOUTH is WATERING! Seriously! YUMMMMM!
Oh, and the whole ‘print recipe’ . . . SO COOOLLLLL!!! I’ve just printed this one, and I actually am going to try and make this one. I recently watched a cooking show a few days ago make an eggplant lasagna, and the recipe was very similar to this. LOVE IT! Thanks, dear friend, for sharing this. Really . . . LOVE IT! (and your photos inspire me so! they really are so beautiful! Have you taken classes in photography? You are so good.)
how did you know i’m an eggplant fiend?
LOOKS DELISH!
This is probably the least original comment you get, but I hope a cookbook with photos and mini-essays is in your future!
Ann, this comment actually made my day (or week) because I dooooo hope that a cookbook with photos and mini essays are in my future. So thank you for the boost.
I completely agree with Ann, future cookbook for you, gifted chef!
We love eggplant, so will prob try this. Very cool that you have printable recipes now.
This looks like something easy and delicious – two requirements for my recipes. When I try to make eggplant parmigiana I make a huge mess and dirty 32 dishes. I don’t know why I can’t do it right.
BTW I don’t think there is a such thing as too much cheese.
Because you have to bread the eggplant right? That does take time/make a mess. In France, the don’t use mozzarella but they often put béchamel sauce. I prefer the mozz though.
Maybe you don’t have to put that much cheese… but why wouldn’t you?? Looks delicious.
Thanks! And thanks for you visit.
Found you because Jaquelin commented on your eggplant gratin. Unfortunately as it is spring here, eggplants are not as plentiful as they were a couple of months ago. But I shall try this asap. 🙂
Thanks for your visit Judith! So you’re down under then? 🙂
Ooooooo….just bought my eggplant!!!!! Dinner tomorrow. . . . Can’t wait!