Eggplant (aubergine) And Shrimp Skillet Casserole

Total Time: 1 hr 10 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 40 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 3
• 3 cups japanese eggplants, halved lengthwise and sliced (cubed if using regular eggplant)
• 1 tablespoon grapeseed oil or 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 small yellow onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 7 ounces raw shrimp, shelled and deveined
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 1/2 cup unsweetened soymilk (cow) or 1/2 cup nonfat milk (cow)
• 2 extra large egg whites
• 1 extra large egg yolk
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
• 1 ounce hard parmesan cheese, grated (divided between custard and topping)
• 2 ounces light farmer cheese, grated (divided between custard and topping)
• 2 brown rice cakes (i used lundberg brand sesame tamari flavor)
• 1/2 teaspoon old bay seasoning (see chef notes, last line of instructions)
• salt, to taste
• pepper, to taste

Recipe

• 1 preheat oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit.
• 2 place the eggplant in a colander over the sink and salt well; toss and let drain for half an hour to extract the bitterness.
• 3 while the eggplant is draining, prepare the custard; whisk to combine the milk, egg whites, egg yolk, nutmeg, 1/4 tsp salt and a few grinds of black pepper; stir in half the grated cheeses and set aside.
• 4 prepare the crumb topping; place the rice cakes, the remaining cheese, old bay seasoning, salt and pepper to taste in the bowl of your food processor, fitted with the steel blade; pulse several times until the mixture is crumbly and combined; set aside.
• 5 heat a 10" cast iron skillet or other oven-proof baking dish over medium heat on your stovetop.
• 6 add the grape seed or olive oil to pre-heated skillet; once the oil is hot but not smoking, add the onions, garlic, and red peppers and saute until the onion is softened (a few minutes).
• 7 squeeze the eggplant of excess water (but not until it’s bone dry) and add it to the onion mixture in the skillet; saute for about 8 minutes until the eggplant is softened.
• 8 taste for seasoning, adding salt and pepper as needed.
• 9 add the shrimp and parsley, stir to combine, and saute for 1 minute; definitely don’t overdo it here; shrimp are icky when overcooked.
• 10 pour the custard mixture over the top so it permeates the entire skillet.
• 11 spread the crumb topping evenly over the top and press gently to set the crumbs.
• 12 lightly spray the top of the dish with cooking spray and bake for about 30 minutes in the oven, or until the casserole is bubbly and golden on top; run it under the broiler for a minute or so if need be to get the desired effect on top.
• 13 let it sit on a wire rack for about 10-15 minutes prior to serving.
• 14 chef notes: bread crumbs (or lamb rinds for you low-carbers) can be substituted for the rice cakes, although the rice cakes gave a nice light crunch to this dish that i really enjoyed; if you like a more prevalent custard base (the amount here is underwhelming), double the custard ingredients, maybe add 1 t flour, and increase the cooking time accordingly; old bay seasoning is a seasoning mix by mccormick; according to their web site,"old bay is a zesty blend of a dozen herbs and spices--including celery, bay leaves, ginger, and red pepper--that’s perfect for seasoning summer foods, especially seafood"; if you can’t get it where you are, look for a copycat recipe by typing"old bay seasoning substitute" at your favorite search engine.