eggplant, tomato, and turkey

last year, i had attempted a casserole that was moderately successful.  and when i raided my dad's garden this past weekend (i'm a regular peter rabbit, i am!), i absconded with a couple (small) eggplants.  he apparently wanted to see what they looked like while growing, so he planted a few this year.

i decided to tweak my previous recipe and try something a little different.  this time, i took some ground turkey, some eggplant, and some fresh tomato to make a casserole.  i was going to add some green peas, but they just didn't seem appropriate for this recipe.

prep + cook time was approximately 45 minutes.  this appears to be about three brian-sized portions.

ingredients:
- one large tomato
- two smallish eggplants
- one pound ground turkey
- olive oil
- various spices (salt/pepper, chili powder, oregano, basil, garlic, paprika, sage)
- feta cheese
- some parmesan (because it was there)

preparation:
brown the turkey on medium-high heat, pour off the grease, and layer in the bottom of a casserole dish.  i added salt and pepper, paprika, garlic powder, and some oregano while browning the meat.

peel/slice the tomato and layer it on top of the turkey.  add salt/pepper, basil, oregano, and whatever else smells nice.  i added a little sage. just because.  sprinkle a good amount of feta cheese on top of the tomato.

peel (most of) the skin from the eggplant and slice thinly.  brown the eggplant on medium-high heat with some olive oil, salt, and pepper.  once browned, layer the eggplant slices on top of the casserole.  sprinkle a little parmesan on top.

bake at 350°F for approximately 25 minutes.

verdict:
taste-wise, this is amazing.  the chili powder and pepper gave it a bite that wasn't too overpowering, and the overall spice mix gave a nice, savory flavor.  texture-wise, the eggplant proved problematic again.  the general consistency of the casserole worked nicely, too.  i was afraid that there wouldn't be enough juice, but the tomato cooked down just enough to allow a little something in the bottom of the pan -- but without everything being too soupy.

i had hoped that browning it in the olive oil would provide a sufficient barrier against over-cooking and toughness.  sadly, this is not the case...the eggplant was kind of chewy.  i'm at a loss on how to adjust things for the future.  possibly, i could put the tomato slices on top of the eggplant.  theoretically, this could allow the tomato to caramelize (which is an interesting notion).  this bears consideration.

in the meantime, go me!