Lamb and Eggplant Casserole

I recently visited my local grocery store to pick up a half-dozen baby eggplants. When the cashier asked what I planned to do with them, I gave her an overview of my Lamb and Eggplant Casserole, a wonderful winter dish I found in a French country cookbook many years ago and revised to my own taste (feel free to do the same). When she asked for the recipe, I told her to check here on Kitchen Excursions, though I had a suspicion I'd never added it. I was right. I've since fixed that.

Cutting up lamb can be tedious. I find it easier to pick up a few leg of lamb steaks, cut them into cubes, and freeze them until I have enough to make this casserole (I do this for any recipe requiring any kind of cubed meat.) I also prefer to use baby eggplant, as it has fewer seeds than the larger eggplant.

As this casserole bakes, the eggplant and onion melt into a delicious gravy/sauce.   I sometimes serve this dish with Roasted Beet Salad with Crème de Cassis Dressing. A wonderful meal for a chilly winter evening!

LAMB and EGGPLANT CASSEROLE

3 lbs. boneless leg of lamb, trimmed of fat and cubed

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

½ cup extra virgin olive oil, more as needed

2 large onions, halved and thinly sliced

3 lbs. eggplant (about 6 baby eggplants) peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes

1 13 oz. can chicken broth

1 bouquet garni (a few stalks of fresh thyme, or ½ tsp. dried thyme,

             6 parsley stems, and 1 bay leaf

TOPPING

About 2 cups of fresh breadcrumbs made from a small loaf of bread,

            such as ciabatta or boule, crust removed

3 large garlic cloves

½ cup chopped fresh parsley

5 Tbs. unsalted butter

5 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
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1.  Preheat oven to 375°.  Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Sprinkle the pieces of lamb with salt and add to the oil in batches, cooking each batch 5-7 minutes until browned. Transfer lamb to a large ovenproof casserole.

2.  Add the onions to the same frying pan and sauté until tinged with brown, 8-10 minutes. Add onions to lamb in casserole.

3.  Brown the eggplant in batches in the same frying pan with a little salt. Add oil to the pan if the eggplant seems too dry. Add eggplant to lamb and onions.

4.   Pour broth into the casserole and stir meat and vegetables. Add bouquet garni and bake, uncovered, for 1½  hours. Stir 2-3 times while baking. Discard bouquet garni. Add pepper and taste for seasoning. (Casserole can be baked a day or two ahead and chilled. Reheat, covered, in a low oven before proceeding.)

5.   Make the breadcrumb topping by tearing bread in pieces and pulsing in a food processor to make large crumbs. Slice garlic and add to food processor. Pulse until coarsely chopped. Add parsley and pulse until everything is finely chopped. Melt butter with oil in a frying pan. Add breadcrumb mixture and stir to evenly coat with butter.

 6.    Preheat broiler. Sprinkle breadcrumb topping over lamb casserole and place on oven rack about 2 inches from heat. Broil until lightly browned, 3-5 minutes. Turn casserole as needed to brown evenly. Serve as soon as possible. Serves 4-6.

Chicken Marsala with Eggplant

This chicken has a few steps to it, but the delicious results are well worth the effort. Recipe doubles or triples easily, perfect for a dinner party, which is how we enjoyed it last night with salad and saffron risotto. Buon appetito!

CHICKEN MARSALA with EGGPLANT

1-2 baby eggplants (1-2 lbs.) skin on
2 medium plum tomatoes
3 lbs. chicken parts
½ lb. lean bacon
1 Tbs. unsalted butter
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. dried thyme
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ cup Marsala wine

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1. Cut eggplant into quarters, then into thick chunks. Sprinkle well with salt and let drain in colander for about an hour. Rinse and dry well with paper towels.

2. Bring a pan of water to a boil. Core tomatoes. Slice small crosses into each end. Dip in boiling water until skin begins to loosen, about 20 seconds. Remove from pan and peel. Cut tomatoes in half crosswise and squeeze seeds out. Chop tomatoes and reserve.

3. Fry bacon in deep frying pan until crisp. Remove bacon and drain on paper towels. Crumble bacon and reserve.

4. Remove all but 1 Tbs. bacon fat from pan. Add butter to bacon fat in pan. Brown chicken on all sides, in batches, if necessary, about 12 minutes. Remove chicken to baking pan (lined with foil, if desired.)

5. Add eggplant and celery to frying pan. Sauté about 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, garlic, bacon, thyme, salt and pepper. Add Marsala and heat through.

6. Pour eggplant mixture over chicken. Cover baking pan with foil and bake at 350° for 1 hour. Remove foil and brown chicken under broiler. Suggest serving with saffron risotto or baby roasted potatoes. Serves 4.

Ratatouille Made Easy

Contributed by Dawn Marie Hamilton

Traditional Ratatouille recipes call for the vegetables to be sautéed then baked as a casserole. This easy recipe skips the sauté step, adds the flavor of baby bella mushrooms and uses tomato sauce instead of whole tomatoes.

As with many of my favorite dishes, this colorful recipe doesn't require exact measurements.

Ingredients:

1 eggplant (1.5 pounds), ends trimmed, unpeeled, diced
2 zucchini (1 pound total), unpeeled, diced
1 large onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
6-8 ounces baby bella mushrooms, stems trimmed, quartered
5-6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 cup roasted garlic pasta sauce
6 large cloves garlic, halved (optional—add garlic if using plain marinara sauce)
pepper

1. Toss vegetables in large bowl with olive oil and season with pepper to taste.

2. Arrange on two parchment-lined baking sheets in single layer.

3. Place on center racks in 350 degree preheated oven and roast for thirty minutes. Switch pan positions and roast for additional thirty minutes. (total baking time: 1 hour)

4. Heat pasta sauce and mix with roasted vegetables in a large bowl.

Serve over rice or pasta as a meatless main dish or as a side dish with your favorite meat. We like it as a side for chicken. Serves 4 as main dish with rice.

* Can be made a day in advance and reheated with meal.