Eggplant Pie With Italian Sausage & Bechamel Sauce

Recipe Rating:	21 Ratings5
Categories:	Turkey, Italian, Other Main Dishes, Vegetables, Other Side Dishes, Quick & Easy, Vegetarian, Healthy, Side Casseroles
Collections:	2012 Member's Choice, Meatless Mondays
Keywords:	Eggplant, sausage
Serves:	4-6
Prep Time:	20 Min

Ingredients

2 lb	eggplant, peeled, sliced and salted
	oil to brush on eggplant (I use olive oil)
2 1/2 c	spaghetti sauce or Italian marinara
1 1/2 c	grated mozzarella (I use the kind in a bag)
3 Tbsp	butter, melted
3 Tbsp	flour
1 1/2 c	milk
	salt and pepper to taste
1/2 c	additional grated mozzarella cheese, for topping
1 lb	Italian sausage, optional (bulk is fine)

Pinched by marklee1513, and 3,790 more.

Mary R Morris

Well Seasoned

Western Grove, AR (pop. 384)

photosister

Member Since Aug 2011

Mary R's Notes:

My Grannie always grew eggplant and we loved it any way she fixed it. I added the Italian sausage when I was grown because I love Italian sausage. But you can leave the sausage out and make it just a veggie dish. My Grannie never added meat to this dish. She made her own spaghetti sauce, too, but I use jarred or canned sauce, and have also used marinara sauce.

Comments from the Test Kitchen:

This is a really flavorful dish... both with the sausage and without!

Directions

Turn on oven broiler. Place eggplant on broiler pan and brush with oil. Broil on both sides untill golden brown. While the eggplant is broiling (watch carefully), fry down the bulk Italian sausage (optional) and drain all grease.

Once eggplant is out of the oven, turn oven on 350 degrees. In an 8x8 or 7x11 inch oven-proof casserole, layer half the eggplant slices then half the sauce. Top with half the sausage and then half the mozzarella cheese. Repeat the layers.

Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes.

While casserole is baking, make the white sauce by melting the butter in a heavy saucepan. Whisk in flour and continue to whisk over medium heat until mixture is a light tan. Slowly add the milk; whisking constantly. Cook and stir over low heat untill the sauce is smooth and thick. Season lightly with salt and pepper, then remove from heat, stir and cover untill ready to spread over casserole.

After 45 minutes of baking, remove the aluminum foil from casserole dish and spoon white sauce over the top of the casserole. Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella cheese over the top. Turn oven to BROIL and heat heat casserole until top is lightly browned and bubbly. I serve with crisp green salad and garlic bread.

Comments

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Mary R Morris photosister

Mary R Morris [photosister] has shared this recipe with discussion groups:
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Pat Duran kitchenchatter

Apr 29, 2012

Mary this sound excellent with or without the sausage. Thanks for posting. Hugs, Pat

Pat Duran kitchenchatter

Pat Duran [kitchenchatter] has shared this recipe with discussion groups:
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Julia Ferguson judyjellybean

Apr 29, 2012

Mary, This sounds so good and I could eat this without the Bechamel or the Sausage. I alomost bought eggplant seeds today to plant in my garden. Maybe, I will go back and get them. Thanks for sharing your Granny's recipes with us.