Ingredients
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3/4 cup olive oil (more as required)
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1 cup onion (chopped)
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1 cup celery (chopped)
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1/2 cup black olives (quartered or sliced)
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1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
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1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
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1/4 teaspoon cumin
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1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
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1/2 teaspoon salt
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1/4 teaspoon black pepper
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1 teaspoon cinnamon
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3 large eggs (beaten)
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1 cup breadcrumbs
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2 tablespoons olive oil
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2 tablespoons dry parmesan cheese (powder variety)
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1/2 cup green bell pepper (chopped)
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3 medium eggplants (unpeeled & sliced in 1/4 in thick slices)
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1 cup fresh tomato (seeded & diced)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Prepare onion, celery, green bell pepper, fresh tomato & black olives in stated quantity as directed & set aside.
- Slice unpeeled eggplant into 1/4" thick slices. Put olive oil in a saute pan & cook eggplant slices (in batches) till just slightly tender. Remove from pan & set aside.
- In the same pan, add onion, celery & bell pepper. Saute till crisp-tender.
- Remove from heat & stir in chopped tomato, black olives, herbs & spices.
- Place 1/3 of eggplant slices in a 9x13" baking dish. Top with 1/3 of veggie/spice mixture & repeat layering 2 more times. Bake 15 minutes.
- While casserole is baking, beat eggs & set aside. In a separate bowl, combine breadcrumbs, 2 tbsp olive oil & Parmesan cheese. Mix well & set aside.
- At 15 minutes, remove casserole from oven. Drizzle beaten eggs over surface, let them seep into the veggie mixture & move veggies around gently using a fork to aid this process as required.
- Sprinkle breadcrumb, olive oil & Parmesan cheese mixture evenly over surface & return to oven for 15 min or till breadcrumbs are golden brown. Serve immediately.
- NOTE: While the recipe did not suggest this, IMO this dish is capable of being expanded to a 1-dish meal w/the addition of your cooked grd meat of choice &/or crumbled feta cheese as another option.