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April 01, 2006

Frank's Eggplant Shrimp Casserole

Frank's Eggplant Shrimp Casserole

Diced squares of tender eggplant, a pile of fresh Louisiana shrimp, and all
the spices that make it truly and authentically New Orleans, this dish has
always been a tradition in the Crescent City. So when's the last time you
put a piping hot pan of it on your table?
Ingredients:
3 large purple or 5 medium pink eggplants
1 stick margarine or butter
1 cup onions, finely diced
¾ cup celery, finely diced
½ cup bell pepper, finely diced
¼ cup parsley, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 lbs. medium shrimp, peeled and chopped
5 cups bread crumbs, wheat or white
½ tsp. oregano
1 tsp. basil leaves
1-1/2 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. red pepper flakes
½ tsp. coarse ground
Instructions:
The first thing you do is take the eggplants (whole and unpeeled) and wrap
each one individually in a sheet of aluminum foil. Then place them in the
center rack of a 350 degree preheated oven and bake them for about 45
minutes or until an ice pick easily pierces them through and through. When
they're soft and tender, set them aside to cool for awhile.
Then, when you're ready to begin assembling the casserole, take a 4 quart
Dutch oven, place in on the stove top over medium heat, melt down the stick
of margarine or butter, drip in the onions, celery, bell pepper, parsley and
garlic, and cook them until they soften and wilt (which should take about 6
minutes, stirring constantly).
In the meantime, remove the eggplants from the foil and peel off the outer
skin-if you baked them long enough the outer skin should come off as easily
as wrapping paper; if you didn't bake them long enough you will probably
have to scrape the pulp out of the skin. Either way, when the vegetable is
peeled, discard the skin, chop the eggplant pulp into small pieces, and
place it (along with the liquids that run from the eggplant as you chop it)
into the Dutch oven. Then, over a medium heat, thoroughly fold the eggplant
into the seasoning vegetables and simmer the mixture for about 5 to 10
minutes or so.
When this has been done, drop in the shrimp (if you have to use large
shrimp, it is best to chop them into smaller pieces before adding them to
the pot) and cook them with the eggplant for another 5 minutes. Make a note
here that additional liquids will exude from the shrimp at this point, but
don't worry about it. It's supposed to happen. The bread will absorb the
excess liquid later. Oh-and this is also the time in the recipe that you
should stir in the seasonings, either the individual spices or a preblended
mix.
Finally, turn off the fire and begin folding in the bread. Notice I didn't
say to add 5 cups, because you might not need all 5 cups. Actually, you
should use only as much as necessary to make the dressing moist-not sticky
and pasty, but not runny either. This is the trick to creating a good
casserole. Then when the bread has been added and the consistency is the way
you want it, evenly fold in the red and black pepper along with the Parmesan
cheese. Then taste the mixture one final time and readjust the seasonings,
if necessary.
All that's left now is to transfer the mixture from the Dutch oven to a
buttered Pyrex baking dish, cover it lightly with a layer of the French
bread crumbs, top the crumbs with a generous helping of the mozzarella
cheese, and slide the dish uncovered into a 350 degree oven for about 25 to
30 minutes, or until the casserole is gold brown, hot, and bubbly! This is
best served right from the oven, sprinkled with a little extra Parmesan
cheese and accompanied by a cold, crisp green salad.
Chef's Notes:
1. You can use either butter or margarine in this dish. The margarine
significantly reduces the cholesterol, but butter gives the finished dish a
more intense, richer taste.
2. If you prefer not to use all the individual spices in this recipe, such
as the oregano, thyme, and basil, you can eliminate them simply by adding 1
tsp. Frank Davis Sicilian Seasoning and 1 tsp. Frank Davis Seafood
Seasoning.
3. If you prefer to make the casserole the traditional Sicilian way, using
Italian sausage instead of shrimp, just substitute sausage for shrimp and
cook it in the Dutch oven before adding the eggplant instead of after adding
the eggplant. Capice?

Shared with our recipe list by Sandy.

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Posted by Willie Crawford at April 1, 2006 04:05 PM

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