As the owner of the Joy of Organics Food Buying Club, I had ordered eggplant as part of the share. When it arrived it was not good quality so I called my vendor and he replaced the eggplant with delicious crisp celery. They did not want the eggplant back. Since they came wrapped in white paper I had already distributed them amongst the shares. I was simply grateful that I did not have to pull them all out. I informed everyone of the glitch and reminded them to use the eggplant right away.
I was all ready to make a good eggplant parm or eggplant lasagna when I looked in my calendar and realized I was scheduled for a colonoscopy. That means no tomatoes or large seeds for a week. So that left me with a challenge of what to do with the eggplant. This is what I came up with. It’s a little labor intensive but worth every minute in the end. It is a big casserole, so excellent for leftovers or a large party. You will note that I cook with the cleanest ingredients possible. Words cannot express the delectable flavors that come from REAL non-industrial food. Just think of the benefits of health to your body as well as the much better treatment of the animals raised on sustainable farms.
Enjoy!
| Prep Time | 2 hours |
| Cook Time | 50 minutes |
| Passive Time | 15 minutes |
| Servings |
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- 2 medium eggplants cut into ¼" rounds I used a mandolin
- 3 pastured eggs whisked with a little water
- 1 cup good Parmesan cheese grated
- 2 cups good homemade chicken bone broth
- 3 tablespoons raw cream
- 1/2 cup good Parmesan cheese grated
- 1 tablespoon grass fed butter
- Celtic kosher sea salt and pepper to taste
- 1 bunch greens (cleaned,stemmed and chopped)
- 1/2 cup chopped organic mushrooms I used a large portobello stem and all
- 1 organic shallot minced
- 3 cloves organic garlic minched
- 1/4 cup fresh basil and fresh parsley chopped
- 2 tablespoons grass fed butter
- Celtic kosher sea salt and pepper to taste
- 1 lb package grass fed mozzarella cheese grated
- 1 1/2 cup cooked chicken - shredded I used two poached pastured chicken breasts
Ingredients
For the Eggplant:
For the sauce:
For the Vegetable Mixture:
And
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- Turn on the broiler and set the rack about 10” from the top.
- Grease 3 cookie sheets with olive oil.
- Dip eggplant rounds in egg mixture and then lightly into cheese and place in a single layer on the cookie sheet.
- Broil for 5 to 8 minutes or until golden and crispy.
- Remove from oven to cool.
- Once they are all broiled turn the oven to bake at 350.
- In a small sauce pan place 1¾ cup chicken bone broth, cream and Parmesan cheese.
- Cook over low to medium heat stirring frequently until thickened.
- Remove from heat.
- Place 2 tablespoon grass fed butter in a large pan and heat over medium high heat until melted.
- Add vegetable mixture and cook for bout 3 to 5 minutes until fully wilted.
- Add the additional ¾ cup chicken bone broth and braise for 3 to 5 minutes until well cooked through, stirring occasionally.
- Remove from heat.
- In a large casserole dish place a single layer of eggplant.
- Top the eggplant with half the shredded chicken.
- Top the chicken with half the mozzarella.
- Top that with half the vegetable mixture. Carefully spoon half the sauce over the dish.
- Repeat a second layer, reserving a small amount of sauce and cheese for topping.
- Top with remaining layer of eggplant a little mozzarella and grated Parmesan.
- Bake in a 350 degree oven for 40 minutes until bubbly and top is melted and cooked.
- Let cool for 15 to 20 minutes before serving.
IMPORTANT NOTE: There is a lot of parmesan cheese in this recipe, and this is salty to begin with, so use a light hand when adding the Celtic sea salt. Otherwise the finished product will be too salty.