Mediterranean Eggplant Casserole

From Moosewood Restaurant Cooking for Health

This casserole goes great with a strongly flavoured salad and is something good to bring along to work. Everyone in the lunch room was very curious about this particular casserole and I bragged that I had made it myself. It does look kind of fancy once you are done, especially with the custardy cheesy topping, and everyone is impressed by eggplant for some reason. However, this casserole is a little bit of work, and you have to use at use a few pots and pans, and me being a little bit lazy I think I might be reluctant to do it all again.

I also would be reluctant to make this particular casserole again because I had one of those "I'm a bad cook and also probably an idiot" kind of experiences when I was making this dish. I assembled the casserole one morning before work (so I would have something delicious for my lunch that day) and put it in the oven with the timer set so I could get ready (aka read my horoscope online on a hundred different sites) and when the timer went off and I checked the oven, I saw that the oven wasn't on and obviously, from the cold state of the casserole, hadn't been on the whole time! I seriously considered calling into work to tell my boss that I would be late because "something came up", but when I thought about my boss asking me the obvious question of "what"?, I knew I couldn't make up an excuse. And I just didn't think she would be understanding about a casserole emergency. So I had to stick my cold casserole in the fridge and then cook it when I got home. The good news is I had something delicious to eat for lunch. It was just a day later than I planned.

Serves 6 to 8
Hands on time: about an hour - baking time: about 55 minutes

1 medium eggplant (about 1 1/4 pounds)
salt
2 teaspoons dried marjoram
1 cup bulghur
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups chopped onions
4 garlic cloves, pressed
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup currants
3 large eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups crumbled or grated feta cheese
2 cups small curd low-fat cottage cheese
3/4 cups grated parmesan cheese
3/4 cup chopped basil or parsley
1 cup chopped toasted walnuts
1 tablespoon lemon juice
ground black pepper
2 large ripe tomatoes, sliced
1. Slice the eggplant into 1/2 inch-thick rounds and arrange them in a single layer on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Brush or spray the slices with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and 1 teaspoon of the marjoram. Bake uncovered in a preheated 400 degree oven until tender and lightly browned, about 20 minutes.

2. While the eggplant is baking, put the bulghur and boiling water into a heatproof bowl. Cover and set aside until the water has been absorbed and the bulghur is tender, about 15 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, warm the olive oil in a skillet on medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, oregano, salt, and the remaining marjoram, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft, about 10 minutes. Stir in the currants and remove them from the heat.

4. In a separate bowl, stir together the eggs, feta, cottage cheese, 1/2 cup of the parmesan, and 1/4 cup of the basil. Set aside.

5. Fluff the bulghur and sitr in the onions and currants, the remaining 1/2 cup of the basil, and the toasted walnuts and lemon juice. Add more salt and pepper to taste.

6. To assemble the casserole, spread the bulghur pilaf evenly in a lightly oiled 9 X 13 inch baking pan. Layer the baked eggplant slices and then the tomato slices. Spoon on the egg and the cheese mixture and spread it evenly over the top. Sprinkle on the rest of the parmesan.






7. Cover the baking pan with foil, rounding it so the foil won't stick to the custard. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 40 minutes, until the casserole is mostly set. Uncover and bake until the top is golden and the custard is firm, about 15 minutes.