with tomatoes, eggplant, lentils, sweet potatoes, and a hint of cinnamon
This is a riff off of Martha Rose Shulman’s Eggplant, Tomato, and Chickpea Casserole. Her recipe is Middle Eastern inspired, and my recipe is inspired by her’s, so this recipe is far from traditional. In my recipe, I’ve added sweet potatoes so eggplant-haters still get to eat something, as well as lentils because I forgot to soak the chickpeas. Like any casserole, this dish tastes even better the next day, so you could even make it a day ahead!
The thing about dry chickpeas or beans is that you have to plan ahead when cooking with them. These ingredients require you to soak them in water overnight before cooking to yield best results. What can you do if you’re already halfway through the recipe and you forgot about the chickpeas? Use lentils! Lentils are a savior in vegetarian cooking, because they are generally tasteless and can take on any flavor. Lentils are protein-packed and a great addition to stews, soups, or curries. They can even substitute ground beef in recipes like shepherd’s pie or meatloaf. But their best feature is that you don’t need to soak them overnight! Lentils are small and can be boiled for 10 to 15 minutes, and are fully cooked. They’re perfect for this recipe, too.
Ingredients:
- 4 to 5 small or 2 medium eggplants, chopped into semicircles
- 2 to 3 medium yellow sweet potatoes, chopped into semicircles
- 1 large onion, thinly sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- a pinch of sugar
- a couple shakes of cinnamon
- 5 leaves of basil
- 3/4 cup lentils
Directions:
- In a large skillet, cook down onions in a generous amount of olive oil until softened, about 5 minutes, before adding the garlic and cooking for an additional 2 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 450F, then line two baking sheets with foil. Brush foil with olive oil, then add chopped eggplants and sweet potatoes on separate pans, then brush again with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, to taste.
- Bake for 15 minutes, then remove eggplants. Bake sweet potatoes for an additional 5 to 10 minutes, until soft. Immediately after removing, seal foil to itself to allow the eggplants or sweet potatoes to steam while the rest of the recipe is cooking.
- While eggplants and sweet potatoes are baking and when onions and garlic are ready, add in tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, cinnamon, and basil. Bring to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- In a separate pot, add water and lentils and bring to a boil. Boil for 10 to 15 minutes, then transfer cooked lentils to a colander, rinse, and drain.
- Once all three components — tomatoes, baked eggplants and sweet potatoes, and lentils — are ready, add all to a casserole dish and mix to combine.
- Bake at 375F for 20 minutes, then lower to 350F for up to 10 minutes.
- Serve hot over rice, or with pita bread. Enjoy!
