Creole Eggplant Casserole with Sauteed Carrots n French Beans

I had half of a large eggplant lying in my fridge, packed well in a plastic wrap. It was too little to make a curry and too much for vaangi bath. While I was seeing the 6th season of Top Chef, this beautiful Southern Dish came to my mind.

In the US, the word "Creole" refers to people who have descended from settlers in colonial French Louisiana. It refers to people of French and Spanish descent, who were born in Louisiana, to distinguish them from immigrants. Creole Food is also called "southern" food as Louisiana is right at the bottom of the US political map.

Avi and myself are not into drinking. Our dear friend Chandu, visited our house with a bottle of smooth wine. It was lying around in our store room (to be served to guests). I got a brilliant idea! What side dish could be better than sauteed carrots and french beans in vinegar n wine sauce? You can avoid the wine if you are apprehensive about using it; its just a tbl spn full, so don't worry, it will not intoxicate you!!! More over, it gives a nice flavor.

Whenever I would see someone order a casserole, I would tell myself, "how do people find this appetizing? It looks brown in color and its eggplant baked???" But it is yummy! To change the brown color, I added a fist full of chopped beetroots to give the dish a nice red wine color; they also add a slight sweet flavor to the casserole.

Eggplant Casserole :-













Serves 2 people:-

Ingredients:-

2-3 cups of chopped eggplant (chopped to medium size)
1/4 cup of chopped bell peppers
1/4 cup of baby portabella mushrooms quartered
1/8 cup of beet root (chopped to medium size)- this add slight sweetness to the dish
1 medium sized red onion slit thin
2 tsp of Italian dressing powder (dried mixture of rosemary, thyme,chives,basil and sage)
1-2 tsp of red chilli powder (optional, but recommended for heat)
1/4 cup of bread crumbs
1 cup of shredded low fat mozzarella cheese
5 tbl spns of olive oil
salt to taste

Method:-

Heat 2 tbl spns of olive oil and saute the onions, mushrooms, bell peppers and beet root.
Fry them well till they are cooked and soft.
Add the Italian dressing powder, chilli powder and salt.
Add the chopped eggplants and saute' them well. Do not make the eggplants mushy. They should be cook, yet firm and crisp.
Add 3 tbl spns of bread crumbs and mix well.
Mix the remaining oil and breadcrumbs. Keep aside.
Put this veggie mixture in a baking dish (used pyrex glass dish). Put a layer of remaining crumbs-oil mixture on top. Spread a generous layer of cheese on top of the crumbs.
Bake at 375 F for 15 mins or till the cheese melts.
Wait for it to cool and relish it!

Sauteed Carrots and French Beans in vinegar and wine sauce













Ingredients:-

1 cup of carrots sliced thin
1 cup of beans chopped. Each chopped into 2 or 3 pieces. Steam them slightly so that they are a little soft.
1 tble spn of fresh thyme (dried would also do)
2 tbl spns of olive oil
1 tsp of cider vinegar
1 tble spn of red wine (can be avoided)
1 tsp of ground black pepper
1/4 tsp of garlic pod grated
salt to taste

Method:-
Mix the vinegar,wine and garlic. Keep aside for 15 minutes.
Saute' the veggies in olive oil and thyme.
Add the wine-vinegar mixture. Mix the veggies well.
Add salt.
Bake for 15 minutes at 375 F.

Relish your Creole dinner!