Greek-Style Eggplants Baked with Cheese
Greek-style eggplants baked with cheese is by far one of the great dishes of a Greek summer, when eggplants and tomatoes are both at peak ripeness. It’s one of the great Greek eggplant recipes, too, something akin, say, to a meatless moussaka! This easy, if somewhat time-consuming, dish is a family favorite. Eggplants baked with cheese is a perfect Mediterranean-diet recipe, too, a filling, Greek plant-based food perfect for a family meal. You need great extra-virgin Greek olive oil and the freshest tomatoes and basil to make it as delicious as it can be. If you want, you can even add a few pinches of dried Greek herbs such as dried Greek oregano or thyme to the sauce.
Ingredients
- Extra virgin Greek olive oil as needed about 2/3 cup
- 1 large onion finely chopped
- 12 large fresh ripe tomatoes, grated or chopped then pureed in a food processor
- 6 garlic cloves minced
- 2 tablespoons petimezi
- Sea salt to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 ½ cups fresh chopped basil
- 6 medium eggplants
- 3 cups coarsely grated graviera or kefalograviera cheese
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 350F/170C. Line two baking trays with parchment paper and set aside.
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Heat ⅓ cup extra virgin Greek olive oil over medium heat in a large, wide pot and cook the onion, stirring, until soft and translucent, about 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the chopped garlic.
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Pour the pureed or grated tomatoes into the pot, bring to a simmer, reduce heat to medium and cook the sauce for an hour, or until thickened. Season with salt and pepper and stir in
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the chopped basil a few minutes before removing the sauce from the heat.
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While the sauce simmers, prepare the eggplant: Trim the stems and base off the eggplants and cut each eggplant into rounds about a ½ inch thick. Place the eggplant rounds on the baking pans. Brush both sides of the eggplant slices generously with olive oil, sprinkle lightly with a little salt and bake for about 15 minutes, turning once, until the eggplant slices are soft and very lightly browned. Remove and cool.
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Lightly oil a 9 X 13-inch ovenproof glass or ceramic baking dish. Strew about a half a ladleful of tomato sauce on the bottom of the baking dish, spreading it evenly over the surface. Place a single layer of the eggplant rounds over the sauce. Ladle another ladleful or so of the sauce over the eggplants and sprinkle with about a third of the cheese. Continue layering eggplant, sauce, and cheese until done, finishing with a layer of sauce and cheese on top.
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Bake uncovered for about 35 to 40 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly and the whole layered dish set. Remove, cool slightly and serve.
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