Recipe: Eggplant and Hamburger Casserole

Eggplant and Hamburger Casserole
Newsgroup: rec.food.recipes/Dave Gomberg

2 large onions (1 chopped, 1 sliced)
1 Tbsp oil
1 6 ounce can tomato paste
1-1/4 lb hamburger
1 eggplant (1-1/4 to 1-1/2 lb)
1/3 to 1/2 cup dried parsley
1 Tbsp Italian seasoning (thyme, oregano, basil ...)
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/2 to 1 cup grated parmesan

Saute chopped onion in a sauce pan in oil until golden brown. Add tomato paste plus 3 cans (18 ounces) water, mix well, bring to boil, and simmer until ready to use.

In a large frying pan, put sliced onion and hamburger. Brown hamburger. Pour off excess fat. Take off heat, add parsley, Italian seasoning, bread crumbs, 1/4 cup cheese and mix well.

Slice eggplant lengthwise, then slice each half into 1/4 inch pieces. Layer bottom of 15x9x2-inch Pyrex baking dish with slices. Cover with half of hamburger mixture, and drizzle with half of tomato paste sauce. Make another layer of eggplant, hamburger, and sauce (make sure sauce is spread evenly), and cover with remaining cheese.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake 1 hour at 350F. Remove foil and bake another 15 minutes.

Best after cooled, refrigerated, re-heated and served next day. Re-heat in microwave to avoid nasty cleanup of baking dish, or place portion(s) on plate(s) and re-heat in microwave.