Eggplant Gratin
- Serves 4 for main dish or 6 as a side dish
This dish can be a light main course or a delicious side dish. Its rich flavors are a wonderful complement to beef.
- 2-2 ½ pounds eggplant
- Olive oil
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- 2 large yellow onions, finely diced
- 3 large garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 large bell pepper, diced
- 3 large tomatoes, chopped (peel if you like)
- 1 handful basil leaves, roughly chopped
- 1/3-1/2 pound James Ranch Mature Belford cheese, grated
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Slice the eggplant into rounds about ½ inch thick – in season, there is no need to salt the eggplant as some recipes state. Brush both sides of each piece with oil and bake on a sheet pan until browned and tender on both sides – about 25 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and set aside. Reduce the heat to 325 degrees.
- Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil or butter in a wide skillet. Add the onions and garlic and cook over medium heat until limp – about 10 minutes. Raise the heat a little, add the pepper and tomatoes and continue cooking , stirring occasionally, until everything is soft and thickened into a jam – about 20-30 minutes. Raise the temperature at the end to reduce the juices if any and add the basil and season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Lightly oil a 2 ½ quart gratin dish. Put a layer of eggplant in the bottom, cover with half the tomato mixture, follow with another layer of eggplant, the rest of the tomato mixture and then top with the grated Belford.
- Cover and bake for 45 minutes then uncover, raise the temperature to 375 degrees and bake another 25 minutes.
