Baked Eggplant with Tomato Sauce

A twist to our humble eggplant...

Ingredients:

6 pcs medium size eggplant; sliced lengthwise about half an inch each
2 gloves garlic, crushed
1 medium red onion, chopped
3 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 kl ground beef
1 411gms diced tomato
1 250 gms tomato sauce
1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
1 cup Parmesan cheese
1 cup mozzarella cheese (optional)
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup butter cubes
rock salt
pepper

PROCEDURES
Prepare Eggplant:
1.  Lay sliced eggplant in tray and sprinkle with rock salt to dehydrate eggplant.  Leave for at least 15 minutes.
2.  After 15 minutes, wash eggplant under running water and pat dry
3.  Grill eggplant until golden brown.  Set aside

Prepare Sauce
1.  In a sauteing pan, heat olive oil and add garlic, careful not to brown
2.  Add onions, once transparent, add ground beef. Stir to cook evenly.
3. after 2 minutes, add Italian seasoning and cook for another 10 minutes while stirring every after couple of minutes
4.  Add diced tomatoes and tomato sauce
5.  Cook for another 5 minutes
6.  Season with salt and pepper.
7.  Remove from heat.

Assembly
1.  pre-heat oven to 200C
2.  Line a baking dish with grilled eggplant enough to cover the bottom of the dish
3.  Pour beef mixture until eggplant is covered
4.  sprinkle mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.
5.  place remaining grilled eggplant, beef mixture then cheese.  Repeat procedure until all ingredients have been used.
6.  for the final layer, sprinkle with bread crumbs and pieces of butter for a crusty top.
7.  Bake for 30 minutes
8. serve with garlic bread

Tip:
The above recipe can also be use as a pasta sauce.  If you do so, best to use linguine or fettuccine pasta