Eggplant stacks with cheese sauce

6 Servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
2 tablespoons Butter or margarine
2 tablespoons Flour
¼ teaspoon Dry mustard
2 cups Milk
2 cups Shredded cheddar cheese
Salt, white pepper
Hot pepper sauce
2 smalls Eggplants
8 slices Onion; cut 1/2-in. thick
½ Lemon; juice only
8 slices Tomato; cut 1/2-in. thick
Salt, black pepper
2 Onions; thinly sliced
1 tablespoon Butter or margarine
1 tablespoon Oil
2 tablespoons Chopped parsley

Directions

CHEESE SAUCE

STACKS

To make sauce, melt 2 tablespoons butter in small saucepan. Blend in flour and mustard. Stir in milk until smooth. Bring to boil, stirring constantly. Cook, stirring, until thickened, about 1 minute. Stir in cheese until melted. Season to taste with salt, white pepper and hot pepper sauce. Set aside.

To make stacks, cut each eggplant crosswise into three or four 1-inch-thick slices, including bottom and stem end. Trim bottom so it will stand level. Parboil eggplant and ½-inch onion slices in small amount of water to which lemon juice has been added. Cover and cook 5 minutes. Turn eggplant slices at halfway point in cooking. Drain on paper towels. Place bottom eggplant slices side by side in 9-inch-square baking dish. Top each with 1 parboiled onion slice and 1 tomato slice and spoon over ¼ cup cheese sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover with next largest eggplant slice and repeat stacking with onion slices, tomato slices, cheese sauce and salt and black pepper to taste. Top each with its stem end. To hold layers in place, insert 2 or 3 long bamboo skewers lengthwise through each eggplant stack. Saute thinly sliced onions in 1 tablespoon butter and oil in large heavy skillet until transparent. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Spoon onions around eggplant in baking dish. Sprinkle with parsley. Bake at 350F 20 to 25 minutes or until vegetables are tender. If necessary, add small amount of water to pan to keep onions from scorching. Remove skewers and slice lengthwise into wedges to serve. Serve additional cheese sauce on side.

(C) 1992 The Los Angeles Times

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