pork and aubergine casserole

this past weekend, i was browsing the clemson farmer's market and started talking to a local farmer (of walker century farms).  as i was buying some ground pork from him, he was providing commentary on how it is hard to mess up cooking (unless you simply fail to pay attention to what you're doing).  as it turns out, this fellow also likes to cook, and he was kind enough to provide me with a recipe.

this is not that recipe.  but he did give me an idea.  and the concept for this particular dish didn't get finalized until i was halfway through preparation.  so this pork and aubergine casserole is truly an experiment.  "aubergine" sounds so much more sophisticated than "eggplant," don't you think?

prep time took about 30 minutes, and cooking time took upwards of 40 minutes.  this gave me about 6-7 servings.

ingredients:
- 1 aubergine (one goes a long way...these eggplants are a lot bigger than they seem)
- about 1 pound of ground pork, thawed
- 1 pint diced tomatoes (these happened to be home-grown and home-canned)
- 15 oz can of corn
- 8 oz (or so) of feta cheese
- parmesan cheese (real, not fake kraft version)
- basil
- garlic powder
- oregano
- black pepper
- ground hot pepper
- cayenne pepper
- tarragon
- thyme
- paprika

preparation:
i drained the corn and mixed it with the tomatoes in a bowl.  with it, i mixed basil, garlic powder, oregano, cracked black pepper, ground hot pepper, and some tarragon.  i happen to like basil and oregano with tomatoes (it feels so italian), and since mom doesn't add anything to the tomatoes when she cans them, i added quite a bit of herbs.  the pepper was mostly to keep things from getting too bland, and i thought that the anise-flavor of the tarragon might add a little extra zip.  whether it made a difference or not, i let the mixture sit for about half an hour in hopes that the flavors would meld a little more.

thinly slice the eggplant, and add a layer to the bottom of a 9" x 13" baking pan.

brown the pork over medium-high heat with garlic powder, cayenne pepper, thyme, black pepper, and paprika.  i figured that some of the cayenne would cook off (and/or be lost in the grease), so i added a bit more than i might otherwise have thought appropriate.  browning took approximately 10 minutes, after which i drained the excess grease.  the pork was surprisingly lean, i must say.

once the pork is drained, stir into the tomato and corn mixture before pouring the entire bowl into the baking pan.  layer any remaining eggplant on top.  crumble the feta cheese on top and bake at 350°F for 25 minutes.  sprinkle parmesan cheese on top and bake for an additional 3 minutes.

verdict:
flavor-wise, this turned out surprisingly well.  the herbs and spices weren't overpowering, but i also managed to avoid underseasoning the dish.  in and of itself, that is impressive.

to be self-critical, though, this casserole had several flaws:

• too watery: i think i should have drained the tomatoes as well as the corn.  also, the tomato wasn't really all that present.  either i should have used more tomatoes, or i should have added some tomato paste to help coat the meat.
• upper layer of eggplant was a little tough: i probably should have brushed the top layer with olive oil or something before adding the cheese.  it still tasted fine, but you could tell the baking process left the eggplant a little dry.
• lack of binding agent:  i'm not sure this was particularly cohesive dish.  in some ways, it felt like a deconstructed soup.  fixing the first point may solve the problem, but i wonder if a thin egg mixture poured on top would have helped, too.

all that said, i would probably cook something similar again.  however, i'd probably dice the eggplant instead of having thin slices.  homogenizing the ingredients might prevent a tough(ish) layer of eggplant on top and make things feel more like a single, cohesive dish.

live and learn, right?  and yes, i realize the pictures are kind of pitiful this time...everyone has an off-day!