Ah winter is finally here... I have to tell you I had the best day off yesterday. I just cooked, I ate, and I slept, all day hahaha. I made a yummy vegetarian dish, Eggplant and Feta Cheese Gratin, recipe I got from my friend's vegetarian cook book. I simplified the recipe of course, I had to make sure that it was still yummy and affordable :)
In my shopping list;
2 eggplants
2 canned chopped tomato (with basil and garlic)
100 gram feta cheese
And from the pantry;
1 onion, chopped finely
olive oil
parmesan cheese
salt, pepper, and a little bit of sugar to taste.
And here is how I cooked it;
1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees.
2. Cut eggplants into thin slices, sprinkle with salt, and leave them for about half an hour until all the bitter liquid comes out. Pat dry, and cook on chargrill pan until cooked and softened.
3. On a separate pan, cook onion with a dash of olive oil until softened. Add in chopped tomato, and a little bit of salt, pepper, and about a teaspoon of sugar to get rid of the acidity. Cook for about 20 minutes on low heat, until thickened.
4. Grease the baking dish, and arrange a third of the eggplant slices, then top it with the tomato mixture and a third of the feta cheese and some parmesan cheese. Repeat this step with the second and third layer.
5. Into the oven for 30 minutes, and that's it; Eggplant and Feta Cheese Gratin.
I love the mature flavour of the eggplant, and I love tomato and cheese too, that's why I can't think of anything I don't like about this dish. I actually added extra feta cheese when I cooked it. But some people might think it's a little too overpowering, but again, it's entirely up to you.
The actual recipe actually didn't salt the eggplant before cooking, but I think it tastes better after you get rid of the bitter liquid. I didn't use fresh basil either, it's just cheaper using canned tomato with basil and garlic, and it still tastes good. Having said that, I would recommend you to use fresh basil if you can afford it :)
I spent $11.14 for the ingredients, and that makes 4 serves. That's less than $3 a serve.
