I first had this on a nonstop flight from Los Angeles to London, this was of course back in the days when you actually were served food. Rather than today where you have to pay and extra 15 dollar fee to use the bathroom. One of the many reasons I am not allowed to fly on Alaskan airlines anymore.
“Fifteen dollars to use the restroom?”
“We take Visa, Mastercard and American Express.”
“NO, thank you that’s all right, I’ll go right here…”
“Uh sir? “
“Ahhhh. That’s better…hey do you have one of those hot towels?”
“For a nominal fee..of…what is that smell? Did you just…that’s disgusting…why would you…?”
“Hey, I’m from Scotland…”
Well, back in the good old days when you were allowed to use real cutlery, this was one of the vegetarian offerings on the LAX-LON route. It is similar to a couple of Armenian recipes that I have seen over the years, so I served this with an Armenian inspired warm green bean salad.
Ingredients:
2 Large Eggplants sliced ½ inch thick
1 Cup (about ½ a pound) of feta cheese
4 Tomatoes Sliced
3-4 Tablespoons of olive oil
A Tablespoon of chopped rosemary
2 Tablespoons of chopped parsley
2 Cloves of garlic minced fine
Salt and pepper
Method:
Sprinkle the sliced eggplant with salt and set in a colander over a bowl to drain, after twenty minutes rinse eggplant and pat dry. Heat the oven to 375 degrees. On a lightly greased grill or skillet cook the eggplant until just lightly browned on each side. Set aside.
Mix the feta, garlic and parsley together in a bowl and set aside. Using a tablespoon of the olive oil lightly grease a rectangular baking dish or four gratin dishes. Layer the eggplant, over lapping each other and alternating with the tomatoes, if using, sprinkle each with rosemary, salt and pepper (Go easy on the salt here, because the feta is Uber-salty.), when assembled drizzle with the remaining olive oil and finally top with the feta cheese mixture. Bake for 20-25minutes until cheese is melting and lightly browned.
This is also really fantastic when a few crushed chili flakes are added to the top.
Serves four, can be stretched to serve six if you add a salad and a rice pilaf.
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