Years and years ago, when Nanny was a young girl, her family sent her to Washington D.C. to spend Christmas with her aunt and uncle's family. Nanny's story was great. She started by telling me all about the train ride and her arrival at what she deemed a grand home. Her aunt and uncle must have had some money because she said cooks actually prepared Christmas dinner for them. Of all the foods she could have told me about or taught me, she chose probably the ugliest most untastey-looking dish.. that was surprisingly WONDERFUL. She told me that on that Christmas the cook brought out this mushy-looking purple blob covered in cheese and Nanny refused to eat it. Over the years, she grew to love this casserole and now it's one of our favorites. The trick is to make sure that, after boiling, the eggplant must drain in a colander for as long as possible, before adding the rest of the ingredients and baking.
Eggplant Casserole
(serves 3-4 side dishes)
You will need:
Small eggplant
small yellow onion
2-3 tablespoons butter
AP Flour
1 egg
salt and pepper
sharp cheddar cheese
small casserole dish
Begin by choosing a relatively small eggplant. (If you are planning to serve a larger group-- get 2-3 small eggplants. Large eggplants have too many seeds which I think makes this dish hard to prepare AND eat.)
Cut the bottom and top off the eggplant and peel the skin off of the vegetable.
Dice the eggplant and onion. Add to a pot, cover with water, and add butter. Cook the eggplant and onions until completely tender. Drain well (this could be up to an hour? sometimes I try to move it along by stirring the mixture in the colander- don't worry too much because it will all get mashed up, later, anyway).
After draining, add flour, egg, salt and pepper and mix and mash well. Place in the greased casserole dish and cover with cheddar cheese (don't be stingy- throw it on there!)
Bake at 350 degrees until the cheese is melted and the casserole is bubbling.
It is probably the most unattractive casserole I could think it post on this blog but the taste is really great and worth the effort.
**Update, my boyfriend, a true California-boy from San Francisco, tried the casserole last night and thinks that this dish would also be really great at brunch-- not only a side at dinner. :)
My 3rd Cousin, Barbara, emailed me this response this morning:
ReplyDelete"I believe the aunt and uncle Nancy visited in DC was probably Aunt Bertha and Sam Moses. They had three children, Betsy, Boggie ( 97, still living and going into work twice a week!) and Bill who became a heart surgeon. Their maid/cook's name was Lizzie.
Lizzie was a wonderful cook and so was Aunt Bertha. Also, Aunt Bertha was a fantastic and fanatical housekeeper. But you have probably heard all this. Back then, Uncle Sam was a millionaire, had his own business.
The last time I was there was right after I graduated from high school. Aunt Bertha had her "routine" and did not like it to be interrupted. I "walked on egg shells" while there and would have been miserable if it hadn't been for Betsy. I had been invited by Aunt Bertha but my reception was anything but warm! By the time I was leaving, Aunt Bertha wanted me to stay (or so she said.) Nancy may have more fonder memories of them than I do."
I love family stories! :) Cheers!! Thanks Barbara! I appreciate this more than you know!!