New Orleans Eggplant Casserole Food

EGGPLANT CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F.
• In a large saute pan over medium-high heat, add the olive oil. Add the eggplant and cook halfway through. Add red pepper, celery, and onion and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until vegetables begin to wilt. Add the basil leaves. Remove from heat. Add Parmesan, cream, bread crumbs and salt and pepper. Toss to combine.
• Place skillet in the oven and cook until heated through, about 20 minutes. Serve with grilled lamb chops.

EGGPLANT, CRABMEAT AND SHRIMP CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Peel and dice eggplant into 1-inch cubes. Boil in enough water to cover with 1 tablespoon salt until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain well and set aside. Saute onion, bell pepper, celery, and garlic in olive oil until very tender. Fold vegetable mixture into eggplant. Add lemon juice, Worcestershire, Lea and Perrins, Creole seasoning, hot red pepper sauce, 1 cup cracker crumbs, Parmesan, salt and cayenne, then eggs. Gently fold in seafood. Place in greased casserole. Top with bread crumbs and melted butter. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes.

NEW ORLEANS EGGPLANT CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Slice the eggplants 3/4 inch thick, and sprinkle each side with salt. Allow slices to drain in colander set in the sink for 2 to 3 hours. Wipe off excess salt, but do not rinse slices. Lay the slices into a large skillet with about 2 or 3 tablespoons of water. Cover, and steam over medium heat until tender, about 15 minutes. Remove and cut the slices into 3/4 inch cubes.
• Bring the rice and water to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the rice is tender and the liquid has been absorbed, 20 to 25 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 2-quart casserole dish.
• Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat, and cook the eggplant cubes for about 10 minutes to slightly dry them, stirring occasionally. Stir in garlic, and cook until fragrant, about 2 more minutes. Transfer the eggplant to a large bowl.
• Cook the fennel in skillet until tender, 5 to 8 minutes; transfer into bowl with eggplant. In the same skillet, brown the pork sausage and ground beef, breaking the meat up into crumbles as it cooks, about 10 minutes. Add meat to eggplant mixture. Drain excess fat from skillet; cook celery, onion, and green pepper until the celery has started to become tender and onion is translucent, 5 to 8 minutes. Transfer vegetables to bowl with eggplant and meat.
• Stir cayenne pepper and hot sauce into the mixture, combining the eggplant and meat thoroughly; gently stir in the cooked rice. Check for seasoning, and add salt if necessary. Place the mixture into the prepared casserole dish. Sprinkle the casserole with crumbs, and drizzle with melted butter.
• Bake in the preheated oven until hot, about 40 minutes.

LOUISIANA EGGPLANT CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Butter a casserole dish and preheat oven to 350°F.
• Cover eggplant with boiling salted water; let stand for five minutes; drain well.
• Brown onion, bell pepper and meat in bacon drippings until onion is translucent, about five minutes.
• Add tomato puree and heat thoroughly.
• Add drained eggplant and remaining ingredients.
• Place in prepared casserole, cover and bake for 1/2 hour; remove cover, increase temperature to 400F and bake for an additional 15 minutes until golden brown on top.

EGGPLANT, OYSTER, AND TASSO GRATIN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400°F. Butter a 2-quart baking dish and set aside. Pour the oysters into a bowl and check for bits of shell. Strain the oyster liquor through a fine sieve into a small bowl and set aside. Set drained oysters aside in a small bowl.
• Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat and whisk in the flour. Whisk in the reserved oyster liquor and stock. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring the mixture to a boil, whisking constantly. Whisk in the cream. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer gently, stirring from time to time, until the sauce thickens, about 10 minutes. Season the sauce with salt, pepper, hot sauce, and nutmeg. Remove the pan from the heat and cover to keep the sauce warm.
• Heat the extra-virgin olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the eggplant and cook, stirring often, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in the onion, tasso, garlic, sage, and rosemary. Cook until the eggplant is tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer the eggplant mixture into a colander to drain for 5 minutes. Stir together the crumbs, parsley, melted butter, oil, and cheese in a small bowl and set aside.
• To assemble the gratin, spread about one-third of the oyster liquor sauce in the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Spoon the eggplant mixture into the dish. Arrange the oysters in a single layer over the eggplant mixture and drizzle with the remaining sauce. Sprinkle the crumb topping over the entire dish. Bake until golden brown and bubbly, 10 to 15 minutes. Serve hot.

DONALD LINK'S EGGPLANT CASSEROLE

Steps:

• For the béchamel: In a small saucepan over low heat, melt butter. Add flour and whisk until pale golden, about 5 minutes. Add milk, salt, white pepper and nutmeg, and whisk to combine thoroughly. Cook, whisking frequently, until thickened and smooth, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
• For the casserole: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spread eggplant slices in a single layer on a baking sheet, and thoroughly coat both sides with olive oil and a sprinkling of salt and black pepper. Roast until fully cooked, 12 to 15 minutes, then remove from heat but do not turn off oven. Meanwhile, in a medium skillet over medium-low heat, sauté merguez until browned and fully cooked. Remove from heat and slice into 1/4-inch-thick rounds.
• Oil an 8-by-11, 2-inch-deep baking dish. Spread one-third of béchamel in baking dish. Top with half the eggplant, then half the fontina and half the merguez. Coat with half of the remaining béchamel. Top with remaining eggplant, fontina and merguez. Spread with remaining béchamel and the Parmesan.
• Bake until hot, bubbling and lightly browned, 12 to 15 minutes. Allow to rest for a minute or two, then serve.

SHRIMP AND EGGPLANT DRESSING

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Bring the water to boil in a Dutch Oven. Add the Bay Leaf, bundled Thyme, reserved Shrimp shells, crab boil, any trim from the diced onion, and a handful of Kosher salt. Boil for about 15-20 minutes, skim off the scum from the shrimp shells.
• Add the Eggplant and reduce to a simmer. Cook until tender about 20 minutes.
• In the meantime, melt the 3 Tbsp butter in a saute pan. Add the onion, bell pepper, garlic, and a pinch of salt, saute until the onions are translucent, add the chopped Thyme and the chopped shrimp, cook until the shrimp are just cooked through; set aside to cool.
• When the eggplant is very tender remove with tongs to a colander to cool. When cool, squeeze some of the liquid from it and chop.
• In a large bowl combine the eggplant, onion & pepper mixture, egg, fresh basil, and parsley, mix ingredients together well. Add the bread crumbs a little at a time until the right consistency is achieved; it should be not too wet, not too dry. Check the seasoning; season to taste with Kosher salt, Cayenne, and black pepper.
• Add the mixture to a buttered gratin or baking dish. Mix together the topping ingredients, top the shrimp and eggplant dressing with it.
• Bake in the preheated oven until bubbly and the topping is a nice golden brown.

FRIED EGGPLANT GALATOIRE'S

Steps:

• In a bowl toss eggplant with salt. Cover eggplant directly with a plate and weight with a 1-pound can. Let eggplant stand 1 hour, or until it gives off most of its liquid. Rinse eggplant and drain well. Pat eggplant very dry with paper towels and in a bowl dredge in flour, shaking off excess.
• In a 4- to 5-quart heavy saucepan heat 1 inch oil to 375°F. on a deep-fat thermometer and fry eggplant in 3 or 4 batches, stirring gently, until golden brown. Transfer eggplant with slotted spoon to paper towels to drain.
• Serve eggplant hot with sugar for dipping.