Eggplant Gratin

So after buying our very first house this year, the hubby and I decided we needed to try our hand at these vegetable gardens that are all the rage these days.  Mind you, I do not have a green thumb... well, at least I don't think I do.  My parents came to visit and we built a HUGE veggie box.  We also did it on one of the hottest days of the year which I don't recommend.  We planted zucchini, bell peppers, two kinds of hot peppers (I like spice in my life), two kinds of tomatoes, eggplant and parsley.  Wouldn't you know the only plants that have produced are the hot peppers and eggplant.  And boy did that eggplant grow.  If I can grow all these suckers, so can you, trust me.  Here's a picture of one from our garden:

Japanese eggplant

So last night I had to figure out what the heck to make with some of the eggplant.  I had tried it on the grill which was okay (not my favorite purple veggie preparation).  I have thrown some of it in stir fries, delicious! But I wanted something different, something where the eggplant was the star of the show.  So I found an Eggplant Gratin recipe from the one and only Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten.  It was very easy to make and oh so creamy and delicious.  I've decided that eggplant was just meant to be eaten with tomatoe sauce.  Add ricotta and cheese - pure perfection.  I did not have two small gratin dishes so I made it in an itty bitty pyrex, mine is a 5 1/2" x 7" dish.

Here's the recipe from The Foodnetwork Website:

Eggplant Gratin
Serves 2

Ingredients:

Good olive oil, for frying
3/4 pound eggplant, unpeeled, sliced 1/2-inch thick (I used two of my Japanese Eggplant)
1/4 cup ricotta cheese (I used part-skim)
1 extra-large egg
1/4 cup half-and-half
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup good bottled marinara sauce (I used Clasico, mmmm)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Heat about 1/8-inch of olive oil in a very large pan over medium heat. When the oil is almost smoking, add several slices of eggplant and cook, turning once, until they are evenly browned on both sides and cooked through, about 5 minutes. Be careful, it splatters!
Transfer the cooked eggplant slices to paper towels to drain. Add more oil, heat, and add more eggplant until all the slices are cooked.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together the ricotta, egg, half-and-half, 1/4 cup of the cheese, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper.
In your baking dish place a layer of eggplant slices, then sprinkle with Parmesan, salt and pepper and marinara sauce. Next, add a second layer of eggplant, more salt and pepper, the ricotta mixture, and finally grated Parmesan on top.
Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the custard sets and the top is browned. Serve warm.

I made the Gratin as a side dish to go with Turkey meatloaf and potatoes, here's a picture of the whole plate, other recipes to follow!

Gratin at the top, turkey meatloaf to the left, potatoes to the right

 I swear it all tasted delicious... I need to get better at my plating and photographs... :-/