Eggplant Lamb And Yogurt Casserole Recipes

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit/240 degrees Celsius.
• Add the eggplant, lamb, onion, oregano, oil, tomato paste, garlic, cinnamon, allspice, red-pepper flakes, 1 3/4 teaspoons salt and a good grind of pepper to a 10-by-13-inch/26-by-34-centimeter (or similar) roasting pan (tin) and mix well to combine. Bake until the mixture is well browned, stirring twice throughout and breaking apart the meat with a spoon, 30 to 35 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and continue to break apart the meat very well (don't worry if you break apart some of the eggplant, too). Add the canned tomatoes with their juices, lightly crushing the tomatoes by hand. Stir in the chicken stock and parsley then return to the oven and bake for another 35 minutes, stirring twice throughout, until the sauce is thick and rich and the eggplant is very soft. Remove from the oven and turn the oven temperature up to 475 degrees Fahrenheit/250 degrees Celsius.
• While the casserole is in the oven, prepare the topping: Whisk together the yogurt, yolks, flour, garlic and half the Parmesan with 1/4 teaspoon salt and a good grind of pepper. Once ready, spoon the yogurt mixture over the lamb and eggplant, gently spreading to cover. Top evenly with the remaining Parmesan, feta, pine nuts, parsley and red-pepper flakes.
• Bake until golden and bubbling, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool for about 15 minutes before serving.

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat.
• Add the onion and garlic; cook stirring frequently until onion is soft, about 5 minutes.
• Add the eggplant and water; cook stirring frequently until eggplant is tender, about 5 minutes.
• Add the cubed lamb and cook until longer pink, about 3 minutes.
• Stir in the tomatoes, 1/2 cup of mint, 1/2 cup of dill, salt and bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook 20 minutes or until lamb is tender.
• While the lamb mixture is cooking, cook orzo according to package directions, drain.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• In a small bowl, combine the yogurt, flour and egg whites.
• Stir the drained orzo into lamb mixture, spoon mixture into an 11 x 7 inch baking dish.
• Cover and bake 10 minutes; uncover spoon yogurt mixture on top, return to oven and bake until casserole is bubbly, about 20 minutes.
• Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup mint and 1/4 cup dill on top of dish and serve.

Steps:

• In a large pot, melt the butter over medium heat, and brown the lamb on all sides. Mix in the eggplants, tomatoes, onions, green bell peppers, and garlic. Cook and stir until tender and lightly browned.
• In a small bowl, blend the tomato paste and water. Mix into the pot with the lamb. Season lamb with allspice, salt, and pepper. Reduce heat, and simmer about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally, until the meat shreds easily with a fork. Add a little water as necessary to keep the ingredients moist.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450°F Place eggplant halves, cut side down, in a roasting pan. Add 1/2" of water to pan and bake 20-25 minutes, until tender. Reduce oven temp to 400°F
• While eggplant in roasting, heat a large dutch oven over med-high heat. Add ground lamb and cook, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon, until browned, 3-5 minutes. Transfer to colander to drain off fat. Set aside.
• Add oil to the dutch oven and heat over med heat. Add onions and cook until golden, about 5 minutes. Add red peppers and garlic and cook for 2 minutes more. Stir in tomatoes and their juice, oregano, thyme, cinnamon and cloves. Simmer, breaking up the tomatoes a bit with the spoon, until mixture has thickened slightly, 3-5 minutes.
• Scoop out eggplant flesh and chop coarsely. Stir rice, beef broth, chopped eggplant and lamb into tomato mixture. Bring to a simmer, then cover the pan and place in oven. Bake 30-35 minutes, or until rice is tender and liquid has been absorbed. Season with salt and pepper. Dot with feta cheese and serve.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 500 degrees. Bring a pot of water to boil for pasta.
• Toss eggplant with 4 tablespoons oil and a large pinch of salt. Spread on a baking sheet, making sure there is room between pieces, and roast until crisp and brown, 15 to 20 minutes.
• In a large skillet, heat remaining tablespoon oil. Add 2 minced garlic cloves and the shallot and sauté until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Add lamb, 1/2 teaspoon salt, red pepper flakes and black pepper to taste. Sauté until lamb is no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Stir in mint or dill and cook for another 2 minutes. Stir eggplant into lamb. Taste and adjust seasonings.
• Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, melt butter: the amount is to your taste. Let cook until it turns golden brown and smells nutty, about 5 minutes. In a small bowl, stir together yogurt, remaining garlic and a pinch of salt.
• Drain pasta and spread on a serving platter. Top with lamb-eggplant mixture, then with yogurt sauce. Pour melted butter over top. Sprinkle on additional red pepper and more mint or dill. Serve immediately.

Steps:

• Place eggplant in a colander set in a bowl or the sink; sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt and toss to coat. Let eggplant stand for at least 1 hour. Rinse off the bitter liquid and excess salt and drain well.
• Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in onion and celery; cook and stir until onion has softened and turned translucent and celery is fragrant, about 5 minutes.
• While vegetables are cooking, combine ground cumin, oregano, rosemary, paprika, mint, salt, and black pepper in a small bowl or mortar and pestle and mix well; this is the lamb seasoning (see Cook's Note). Set seasoning aside.
• Stir eggplant cubes and garlic into the vegetables in the skillet, mixing well, and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Add chopped tomatoes and sprinkle with half of the lamb seasoning mixture. Reserve remaining seasoning. Stir gently and cook for 5 minutes more.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 2-quart casserole dish.
• Pour chicken broth and half the can of tomato sauce into the skillet and simmer for 10 minutes; add a little water if the sauce starts to get dry. Transfer the sauce to the prepared casserole dish.
• Return the skillet to the stove over medium-high heat and heat the reserved tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Place ground lamb into skillet and sprinkle with remaining seasoning mixture. Brown lamb in the hot oil, stirring frequently, until the meat is evenly browned; it should look like imperfect meatballs.
• Gently transfer the lamb to the casserole dish, pushing it down into the vegetable mixture so that it is at least partially submerged. Stir fresh lemon juice into the remaining tomato sauce and pour the sauce over the casserole.
• Bake uncovered for 45 minutes to 1 hour, depending upon how tender you like your vegetables.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Cut the eggplants in half lengthwise, including the stems. Using a sharp paring knife, scoop out some of the flesh, leaving a shell that is 1/3 inch thick and reserving the scooped-out eggplant. Place the eggplant shells snugly in a single layer in a large (10-by-14-inch) rectangular baking dish. Brush the eggplant all over with 1/4 cup olive oil (use it all!) and sprinkle with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 3/4 teaspoon pepper. Pour 1/4 cup water in the baking dish, cover tightly with aluminum foil, and bake for 30 minutes, until the shells are tender when pierced with a small knife. Remove from the oven, discard the foil, and leave the oven on.
• Meanwhile, for the lamb filling, in a large (12-inch) skillet, heat 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and saute for 5 minutes, tossing occasionally, until tender. Cut the reserved scooped-out eggplant into 1/2-inch dice (you should have about 2 cups). Add the eggplant to the onion and cook for 5 minutes, adding more oil if it seems dry. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add the ground lamb and cook, mashing lightly with a fork, for 5 to 7 minutes, until no longer pink. Add the oregano and cinnamon and cook for one minute. Add the wine, tomatoes, marinara, parsley, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer uncovered for 25 to 30 minutes, until the liquid evaporates. Spoon the filling into the eggplant halves in the baking dish. (You may have a little extra filling.)
• In a medium bowl, mash the ricotta, goat cheese, egg yolks, mint, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper with a fork. With a spoon, place large dollops of the ricotta mixture on the lamb filling and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the filling is hot and the topping is lightly browned. Serve warm, sprinkled with extra mint.

Steps:

• Heat 2 tablespoons oil in heavy large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add peppers and Sauté until tender and beginning to color, about 8 minutes. Transfer peppers to bowl. Heat remaining 3 tablespoons oil in same Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add lamb and Sautéuntil cooked through, breaking up with back of spoon, about 6 minutes. Add onion and Sauté until onion is tender, about 6 minutes. Add wine and cayenne pepper and cook 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, currants, tomato paste and nutmeg. Reduce heat to medium. Cover and simmer until sauce is very thick and reduced to 6 cups, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Meanwhile, line large baking sheet with foil. Arrange eggplant slices in layers on prepared sheet, sprinkling each layer with sea salt. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes.
• Preheat broiler. Line another large baking sheet with foil. Pat eggplant slices dry with paper towels. Arrange some of eggplant slices in single layer on second prepared sheet. Brush lightly with olive oil on both sides. Broil until golden brown, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer to platter. Repeat with remaining eggplant.
• Boil potatoes in large pot of salted water 5 minutes. Drain. Cool. Cut potatoes into 1/4-inch-thick slices.
• Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish with oil. Arrange potatoes in bottom of dish. Arrange half of eggplant slices over potatoes. Pour half of sauce over. Arrange Sautéed peppers over sauce. Arrange remaining eggplant over peppers. Pour remaining sauce over.
• Bake moussaka until bubbling around edges, about 45. Spoon off any excess fat. Using back of spoon, press down on moussaka to compact layers. Whisk yogurt and egg yolks in medium bowl to blend. Pour over moussaka, covering completely. Bake until yogurt topping is softly set, about 15 minutes. Transfer baking dish to rack and let stand 20 minutes. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cool. Cover and refrigerate. Rewarm in 400°F. oven until heated through, about 30 minutes.) Spoon moussaka onto plates.

Steps:

• To prepare the eggplant:
• 1. Place the eggplant in a colander, toss liberally with salt, and let sit for about 1 hour to drain away extra water. Squeeze out the excess water and pat dry with a kitchen towel.
• 2. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add the olive oil. Working in batches, fry the eggplant slices, turning as necessary, until tender and light brown, 4 to 5 minutes total. Transfer the cooked slices to a rack set over a baking sheet to drain while you sauté the remaining eggplant. Set aside.
• To prepare the meat sauce:
• 1. In a large skillet over medium heat, add the olive oil. Add the onion to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until very tender, about 10 minutes. Add the ground meat and cook, stirring occasionally, until just browned, about 5 minutes.
• 2. Add the garlic, tomatoes, tomato paste, cloves, allspice, cinnamon, bay leaf, and 1/2 cup water and bring the liquids to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, season with salt and pepper, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has reduced and the sauce is very thick, about 30 minutes.
• 3. Add the red wine and continue simmering until the wine has reduced and developed a sweet aroma, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove and discard the bay leaf and cinnamon stick. Set the sauce aside.
• To prepare the cheese sauce:
• 1. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Stir in the flour and whisk until it is dissolved and the mixture resembles a smooth paste, about 2 minutes.
• 2. Gradually whisk in the milk about 1 cup at a time, working out any lumps that form. Bring the sauce to a full boil, then reduce the heat to low and gently simmer, stirring frequently, until thickened, about 30 minutes. Remove the sauce from the heat. Season with nutmeg, salt, and pepper to taste.
• 3. In a medium bowl lightly beat the egg yolks. Whisk about 1 cup of the hot milk mixture into the yolks to bring them up to the same temperature. Slowly add the yolk mixture to the rest of the milk mixture, then add the cheese and blend well. Set aside and keep warm.
• To assemble the moussaka:
• 1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• 2. Scatter the breadcrumbs in a deep, rectangular baking dish. Arrange about half of the eggplant slices in an even layer over the breadcrumbs. Add all of the meat sauce over the eggplant and spread into an even layer. Arrange the remaining eggplant in an even layer over the meat sauce. Pour the cheese sauce over the eggplant.
• 3. Bake the moussaka until the cheese sauce is thick and golden brown and the eggplant is very tender, about 45 minutes. Let the moussaka rest for 25 minutes before serving.