RECIPE: BAKED EGGPLANT WITH CHEDDAR CHEESE AND BLACK OLIVES

Cooking is a fun pastime, aside from the washing up, that is. Nonetheless, I always enjoy my time in the kitchen, kind of a 'me' time. Trying out new recipes or the modification of some sort. My genre is, mostly, pasta and stuff. I am attempting to present some simple step-by-step recipes, completed with pictures, when I managed to snap some. These recipes are all tried-and-tested, my dear husband can attest to that, lol. Alright, here's my first one. (Tersedia resep dalam bahasa Indonesia juga, di bagian bawah ya...:D)

BAKED EGGPLANT WITH CHEDDAR CHEESE AND BLACK OLIVES

Ingredients:
One medium/large size eggplant, diced
One carrot, diced
Large onion, diced
One fresh egg
Beef 100 gr (or chicken, if you prefer)
Cheddar Cheese, shredded
Black olives, cut
Tomato paste (you can buy canned one)
Garlic, chopped
Bread crumbs, 6 spoonfuls
Butter, 4 spoonfuls
Dried basil

Steps:

1. Boil the diced eggplant until medium soft and put aside to dry. Not too soft because it's still going into the oven later.
2. Heat some of the butter and put in garlic, onion, carrot, and beef. Add one or two pinches of salt and pepper to taste. Mix together until the nice smell comes out. Hehm..yummy...
3. Prepare a large mixing bowl. Put in the eggplant, the beef mixture, 4 spoonfuls of bread crumb, and egg. Mix well.
4. Heat a little butter. Put in tomato paste and black olives. You can use a little sweetened condensed milk, if you like. Mix well. Put aside.
5. In a small bowl, mix the remaining bread crumb and butter. Mix them well. It can get a bit messy.
6. Now that everything is ready, we can get to the fun part. You can use either small baking bowls to make personal portions, as I did here. Or just put everything in a large baking pan. It depends on your preference. Here, I use three different baking bowls to show you the steps to layer the ingredients. First, grease the baking bowls, of course. Next, put a little of the bread crumb+butter mix in the bottom. Then comes the eggplant+beef mixture. Topped with tomato+olive paste. Cover everything with the remaining bread crumb+butter mixture. Sprinkle some cheddar cheese on top, or better yet if you use mozzarella. And of course, dried basil to taste.
7. Pre-heat the oven, about 300 C. Put in the eggplant you have assembled for about 20 minutes, more or less. Check often to ensure you don't burn it. Serve hot! Bon apetite!

TERONG PANGGANG DENGAN KEJU CEDAR DAN ZAITUN HITAM

Bahan-bahan:
Satu buah terong ukuran sedang atau besar, potong dadu
Satu buah wortel, potong dadu
satu buah bawang bombai, potong dadu
Satu telur segar
Daging sapi/ayam 100 gr
Keju cedar, parut
Zaitun hitam, potong
Pasta tomat (kalengan)
Bawang putih, cincang
Remah roti kering, 6 sendok
Mentega, 4 sendok
Kemangi kering

Cara:
1. Rebus terong yang telah dipotong dadu hingga agak lembut dan keringkan. Jangan terlalu lembek karena nanti masih akan dipanggang lagi.
2. Panaskan sebagian mentega dan masukkan bawang putih, bawang bombai, wortel, dan daging. Gunakan garam dan lada secukupnya. Aduk rata hingga wangi. Hehmm...lezat...
3. Siapkan pinggan besar. Campur terong dan bahan yang barusan dimasak beserta telur dan 4 sendok remah roti kering. Aduk rata.
4. Panaskan sedikit mentega dan masukkan pasta tomat beserta zaitun hitam. Anda bisa menambahkan sedikit susu kental manis jika suka. Masak hingga tercampur rata. Sisihkan.
5. Dalam mangkuk kecil, campurkan sisa remah roti dengan sisa mentega. Aduk rata. Agak merepotkan memang.
6. Sekarang semua bahannya sudah siap, kita bisa mulai bersenang-senang menyusunnya. Gunakan beberapa pinggan panggang kecil atau satu pinggan panggangan yang besar, terserah selera anda. Di sini saya menggunakan beberapa pinggan panggang kecil-kecil untuk menunjukan langkah penyusunannya. Pertama-tama, oleskan mentega di dasar pinggan, tentu saja agat tidak lengket. Selanjutnya, taruh sebagian campuran remah roti+mentega di bagian paling bawah. Kemudian masukkan campuran terong+daging. Di atasnya taruh pasta tomat+zaitun. Ditutup dengan sisa campuran remah roti+mentega. Taburkan keju cedar, atau boleh juga gunakan keju mozarella jika suka. Dan tentunya, kemangi kering secukupnya. 
7. Panaskan oven sekitar 300 C. Masukkan bahan-bahan yang telah disusun tadi. Masak sekitar 20 cek. Ingat untuk selalu memeriksa agar tidak gosong! Sajikan selagi panas! Selamat menikmati!