Yield: 8 servings
| Measure | Ingredient |
|---|---|
| 2 tablespoons | Butter or margarine |
| 1 cup | Onion, chopped |
| 1½ pounds | Ground chuck or lamb |
| 1 | Clove garlic, minced |
| 1 teaspoon | Oregano |
| 1 teaspoon | Basil or more |
| 2 | Eggplants, unpeeled |
| ½ cup | Melted butter or margerine |
| 2 tablespoons | Butter or margerine |
| ¾ teaspoon | Cinnamon |
| 1 teaspoon | Salt |
| ⅛ teaspoon | Pepper, to taste |
| 16 ounces | Tomato sauce |
| 2 tablespoons | Dry bread crumbs |
| ⅛ teaspoon | Salt & pepper |
| 2 tablespoons | Flour |
MEAT SAUCE
EGGPLANT
CREAM SAUCE
MEAT SAUCE Melt butter, saute onion, meat & garlic, stirring until brown. Add herbs & spices and tomato sauce; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer, uncovered, about 30 min. Just before assembling casserole, mix bread crumbs into sauce. EGGPLANT - Halve eggplants lengthwise. Cut each half across into ½" slices. Place slices in bottom of broiler pan. Sprinkle with salt & pepper and brush with butter. Broil 4 inches from heat four minute on each side. CREAM SAUCE -Melt butter & stir in flour, salt & pepper. Add millk gradually. Bring to a boil, stirring until thick. Remove from heat.
Beat a small amount of cream mixture into eggs. Blend egg mixture into remaining sauce. Mix well and set aside. TO ASSEMBLE - In a 2 qt. shallow baking dish, layer half of the eggplant, overlapping slightly. Sprinkle w/2 tb of the combined cheeses. Pour meat sauce of eggplant. Sprinkle w/2 more tb of cheese. Layer remaining eggplant over top. Pour cream sauce over all. Sprinkle w/remaining cheeses.
Bake @350 until brown and top is set, approx. 35-40 min. This sounds more complicated than it is, and makes a great party dish, as it is very "forgiving" - eggplant haters won't even know what they're eating!