Greek eggplant and potato bake

Greek eggplant and potato bake, a yummy summer meal using in-season eggplants and tomatoes, with some potato thrown in for good measure 🍆🍅🥔

This is basically like a deconstructed Imam baildi, which I also love, but I was faced with two things this time: 1) I ordered my eggplants online and got delivered MONSTER eggplants that were more than 1 lb each, way too big to make Imam, for which you need small eggplants (the “Italian” variety here in the states); 2) While I love Imam, I didn’t want to fry so much and wanted a bit of a lighter dish. So this recipe was born!

Are you following @mostlygreek’s #greeksummermeal hashtag yet? Check it out for more Greek summer eating inspo 💙

_____
#RECIPE:
2 large eggplants, sliced horizontally 1/2 inch thick
salt, as needed
3 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion, sliced into thin wedges
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 1/4 lb (600g) puréed tomato
3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1-2 yellow potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced into rounds
1 cup grated cheese*
_____
Sprinkle the eggplant slices with salt and place in a colander set over a bowl. Set aside for at least 30 min or even a few hours to let the bitter juices drain.
Preheat the oven to 400 F (200 C). Pat the eggplant slices dry, brush both sides with olive oil, and place on a parchment-lined baking tray in a single layer. (You’ll need two trays.)
Bake eggplant in the oven until soft and slightly browned, flipping halfway, about 25 minutes. Remove and set aside.
Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook gently till onion is softened, 5-10 min. Add tomato and parsley, along with pepper to taste and a little salt (go easy on the salt, as the eggplant was already salted). Simmer gently till sauce is thickened, about 10 min.
Spread a thin layer of sauce in a 9x13 inch (20x30 cm) baking dish. Layer slices of eggplant and potato in the dish, slightly overlapping. Cover with sauce, then sprinkle with cheese.
Bake in the preheated oven at the same temperature until cheese is melted and bubbly, 15-20 min.
______
*Note on the cheese: Almost any melty semi-hard cheese will work. I used a combination of kefalograviera, kefalotyri, & goat cheddar