eggplant gratin
I never thought it would be this easy to make a gratin! My first… and I am so loving it! Eating healthy and right…now that’s tough to live up to especially with all you foodies around, but I will try try try! I really have to lose some extra inches and pounds since I got hooked into food blogging. Seriously!
How-to:[courtesy of Foodnetwork's Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten]
Good olive oil, for frying
3/4 pound eggplant, unpeeled, sliced 1/2-inch thick
1/4 cup ricotta cheese
1 extra-large egg
1/4 cup half-and-half
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup good bottled marinara sauce
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Heat about 1/8-inch of olive oil in a very large frying pan over medium heat. When the oil is almost smoking, add several slices of eggplant and cook, turning once, until they are evenly browned on both sides and cooked through, about 5 minutes. Be careful, it splatters! Transfer the cooked eggplant slices to paper towels to drain. Add more oil, heat, and add more eggplant until all the slices are cooked.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together the ricotta, egg, half-and-half, 1/4 cup of the Parmesan, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper.
In each of 2 individual gratin dishes, place a layer of eggplant slices, then sprinkle with Parmesan, salt and pepper and spoon 1/2 of the marinara sauce. Next, add a second layer of eggplant, more salt and pepper, half the ricotta mixture, and finally 1 tablespoon of grated Parmesan on top.
Place the gratins on a baking sheet and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the custard sets and the top is browned. Serve warm.
I made 3 ramekins and I’m so glad mommy Vikki liked it! It must be the very first time I cooked something for the in-laws and I’m quite happy and satisfied with the result.
No Comments
Other Links to this Post
RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI
By Paz, October 3, 2007 @ 8:06 pm
Oh my! This looks dee-lee-cious! Wonderful pic!
Paz
By ces, October 4, 2007 @ 4:28 pm
hey paz!
thanks! it is truly dee-licious! and healthy pa!
By chase, October 5, 2007 @ 2:48 am
that looks very nice and mouthwatering ms. Ces!
By ces, October 6, 2007 @ 9:14 am
hey chas!
thanks for dropping by…haven’t seen you around much lately, you must be busy too!
By Michelle, October 11, 2007 @ 7:38 am
Hi Ces, I totally hear you on that one! Since I was a kid I’ve always loved food and at one point in my life, I had to give it all up to lose 30 lbs. And for the past 10 years, I’ve been “trying” (i say that very lightly) to lose another 5-10 lbs. It’s not as easy as some may think. Now that I food blog, I can’t think about exercising and eating healthy. But I have an exam coming up that I need to study for and I’ve been researching on foods that help with memory and of course.. they’re all healthy foods so now I’m watching what I eat and exercising cuz I really need to pass this exam. I’ll send some healthy ideas your way when I find some good recipes.
By Thess, October 12, 2007 @ 11:13 am
Hi Ces! Oh man, I love eggplant gratin…ginutom ako ah!!
have a good weekend
By ces, October 12, 2007 @ 12:42 pm
hi michelle:
that’s a great idea! thanks! and i need to lose 5-10 lbs too! or more? hahahaha!
hi thess:
thanks and you have a great weekend too!
By sha, October 15, 2007 @ 2:49 pm
ces.. did u salt the eggplant first?
anyway have not done this the greeks have similar callled papoutsakia little shows where the eggplant is filled with fillings
By ces, October 15, 2007 @ 9:58 pm
hey sha!
nope! no salt at first but during the layering process yes together with the parmesan and pepper…
it’s light and filling…i just don’t know how to present it in a better fashion:)
By iska, October 17, 2007 @ 3:22 am
wow! that looks great ces! i wish i could go back to my usual cooking…. hindi pa e. pakonti-konti pa lang…
By ces, October 17, 2007 @ 12:22 pm
hi iska!
thanks! how are you? very busy i guess…ako rin not enough time for blogging and cooking lately, plus i’m on a salad diet for a couple of days now:( huhuhu….and on a lighter note, mommy vikki is around to do the cooking for us:)hehe…
By kate, October 19, 2007 @ 8:08 am
ces … i’m with you … food blogging has affected many of our waistlines !!!!
i keep promising to go to the gym , instead i end up blogging more and bookmarking recipes all the time :p
Congrats on your first gratin. It looks nice. and i see that your passion for egg plant continues