Cajun Shrimp Eggplant Casserole

Spicy eggplant and shrimp casserole is a traditional dish in any Cajun kitchen. It took me a while to come around to loving it but now it's a true family favorite.

My daughters will tell you that a lot of my recipe instructions start with frying bacon and garlic. They like to say ALL but then, they are given to hyperbole and come by that tendency naturally from all the storytellers in our family. As my father always says, “Why let the truth get in the way of a good story?” His own father, their great-grandfather used to say that he didn’t trust a man who could tell a story only one way. So you have to take us all with a grain of salt. 

But it is the gospel truth when I tell you that most Cajun recipes start with we call the holy trinity: onions, bell pepper and celery. This one is no different.

This week, along with the rest of North America and many countries around the globe, Sunday Supper is celebrating mothers so I wanted to make a dish that my mom loves. When I was a child, this shrimp eggplant casserole was one my mom thoroughly enjoyed and my grandmother made it often when we were visiting. I hated it!  Frankly, I hated all things eggplant. I think it was a textural thing. 

I had already had my second child and was 30 years old before I was introduced to eggplant Parmigiana.  Finally, an eggplant dish I liked! But that encouraged me to give some others another try and I am pleased to say that my mom’s favorite is now one of mine too. I don’t know that I make exactly like my grandmother did all those years ago, but I begin with the Cajun holy trinity, and bacon, and that’s the best start.

Happy Mother’s Day to my great traveling companion, positive thinker, faithful role model and unendingly generous mother! I love you, Mom, and wish we were celebrating together today.

My family bookends. They support me from both sides and I am blessed.

Cajun Shrimp Eggplant Casserole

Every Cajun cook has a recipe for a version of this spicy eggplant casserole with shrimp. This one is my attempt to replicate my maternal grandmother’s, in honor of her eldest daughter, my own dear mother.

Ingredients
1 medium onion
1 medium green bell pepper or capsicum
3 stalks celery
4 cloves garlic
3 medium eggplants or aubergine (about 2 lbs or just less than 1 kg)
Sea salt
5 slices sandwich bread (I use whole grain because that’s all I ever buy.)
1 cup milk
1.5 lbs or 680g shrimp, already peeled and cleaned
2 slices bacon
Olive oil
1 1/2 cups or 135g grated Parmesan, divided
2 eggs
2 small chili peppers, minced, or 1 teaspoon chili paste or cayenne
Few good grinds of black pepper
1 cup or 125g dried breadcrumbs
3 tablespoons butter
Parsley for garnish, optional

Method
Finely chop the onion, bell pepper, celery and garlic.

Peel the eggplant and cut it into cubes. Put them in a large bowl, cover with cool water and sprinkle with fine sea salt.

Cut your bread slices into pieces and soak them with the milk.

In a large pan, big enough to eventually hold all your cubed eggplant, sauté the shrimp with a drizzle of olive oil, until just pink. Lightly season with sea salt. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Now fry the slices of bacon with another drizzle of olive oil until crispy and remove them from the pan. Chop them into small pieces.

Tip the onion, bell pepper, celery and garlic into the bacon pan and sauté until they are all soft. Drizzle in a little olive oil if the pan seems dry.

Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and grease a large casserole dish with a little olive oil.

Drain the eggplant in a colander and add it to the bacon pan. Cook the eggplant until it is softened as well. This takes about 10 minutes but you can put a lid on the pan to speed it up a little.

In a very large mixing bowl – I use my largest salad bowl – combine your soaked bread, 2 eggs, bacon, chilies, shrimp and half of the grated Parmesan.  Stir until very well combined.

Add in the sautéed eggplant and a few good grinds of black pepper and stir well.

Pour the whole bowl into your prepared casserole dish and spread the contents out evenly.

Mix your breadcrumbs with the remaining Parmesan and sprinkle this to cover the eggplant mixture.

Cut the butter into little slices and dot them around the top of the casserole.

Bake in your preheated oven for about half an hour or until the casserole is golden brown and bubbling.

Sprinkle with a little chopped parsley when serving, if desired.

Enjoy!

Does your mom have a special dish she loves? Does your family have inviolate Mother’s Day traditions? I’d love to hear about them so please leave me a comment. Meanwhile, check out all the lovely dishes and desserts my Sunday Supper group is sharing today, along with our talented host, Liz from That Skinny Chick Can Bake.

Mother's Day Breakfast:

• Bacon,Egg and Cheddar Scones from Kudos Kitchen By Renee
• Chai Berry Muffins from Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
• Chocolate Almond Prune Bread from What Smells So Good?
• Greek Breakfast Strata from Curious Cuisiniere
• Maple Almond Butter from girlichef
• Orange Julius from Neighborfood
• Rum Rolls from Daily Dish Recipes
• Slow Cooker Eggs with an Asian Accent from NinjaBaking.com

Mother's Day Appetizers, Soups and Salads:

• Asparagus and Prosciutto Crostini from Hip Foodie Mom
• Carrot Ginger Soup from Confessions of a Culinary Diva
• Chilled Spring Pea Soup from An Appealing Plan
• I Love You Mom Melon Salad from Hot Momma's Kitchen Chaos
• Strawberry Salad with Asparagus Mousse from Delaware Girl Eats
• Truffled Sea Salt Shrimp Arugula Salad from Family Foodie
• Vegetable Shu Mai from My Healthy Eating Habits

Mother's Day Main Dishes:

• Betty's Salad from Jelly Toast
• Brussels Sprouts Kofta from Soni's Food
• Cajun Shrimp Eggplant Casserole from Food Lust People Love
• Crepes Lorraine from Noshing With The Nolands
• Greek Chicken Pizza from Casa de Crews
• Ham and Spinach Quiche from Try Anything Once Culinary
• Lightened-Up Penne & Tomato Cream Sauce with Peas & Prosciutto from Cupcakes & Kale Chips
• Mac & Cheese Dressed Up for Mother's Day from Cooking Chat
• Mini Pot Pies from Jane's Adventures in Cooking
• Paprika Shrimp from Nosh My Way
• Spears in a Blanket from The Not So Cheesy Kitchen

Mother's Day Desserts:

• Banana Cream Pie from Take A Bite Out of Boca
• Black-Eyed Susan from Cindy's Recipes and Writings
• Cannoncini alla Crema from Manu's Menu
• Chocolate Babka from Run DMT
• Chocolate Caramel Tart from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Chocolate Creme Brûlée from Desserts Required
• Frozen Strawberry Cheesecake from Serena Bakes Simply From Scratch
• Gluten Free Lemon Curd Pie from Gluten Free Crumbley
• Lemon Cookies from Peanut Butter and Peppers
• Limoncello Lemon Pound Cake from Killer Bunnies, Inc
• Mom's Glazed Blueberry Tarts from The Wimpy Vegetarian
• Mom's Coconut Macaroons from MealDiva
• Mango Sorbet from Pescetarian Journal
• PB&J Macaron from A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures
• Peach Cobbler from Cookin' Mimi
• Pina Colada Cake from The Foodie Army Wife
• Pineapple Empanadas from La Cocina de Leslie
• Scotch Tea Cookies from Shockingly Delicious
• Strawberry Shortcake Whipped Cream Cupcakes from Seduction in the Kitchen
• White Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies from Pies and Plots

Spicy Pepperoni and Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto

Pepperoni blended with sun-dried tomatoes, pine nuts, garlic and arugula makes the perfect spicy pesto to serve over pasta or to spread on crusty bread as an appetizer. Or you can use it as pizza sauce. 

It’s funny how something catches my eye. It could be a sign on the highway or a colorful label on a grocery store shelf or a photo on Pinterest that somehow jumps out as I scroll by, but I am always on the lookout for the unusual and the humorous. My Facebook friends and followers on Instagram know what I’m talking about.

Bowels for your salad?

Dirt is good? Thanks for that, OMO. I no longer need detergent.

Is that meant to be a cantaloupe “bunny” amongst the carrots?

I'm being "ware" but what on earth is a road surprise?

The most ENORMOUS leeks

And my most recent find:

Canned humans? 

One thing I didn’t take a photo of because the container was nondescript, with just a store bar code, was some pepperoni pesto made in-house at Whole Foods. The label caught my eye about the same time as the giant leeks in that same store in Providence, Rhode Island.  So no photo, but I did a make a mental note because pepperoni pesto is genius! I have no idea what was in the plastic vessel at Whole Foods but I made my own, using the tomatoes I sun-dried personally last summer. It is divine. And you need some. Just, please, don’t serve it in a salad bowel.

Ingredients (Makes about 1 3/4 cups or 415ml of pesto)
1/2 cup or 30g sun-dried tomatoes
1/4 cup or 45g pine nuts
2 large cloves garlic (about 10g)
3 1/2 oz or 100g spicy pepperoni
1/2 cup or 120ml olive oil, divided
Couple of good handfuls or 50g arugula or rocket
Sea salt to taste
1-2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Method
Cover the sun-dried tomatoes with almost boiling water and leave to soften until cool. Drain the water from your tomatoes.

Aren't they a gorgeous color? I sun-dried them myself last summer.

Toast your pine nuts in a small skillet until they are lightly golden.

Blend the softened tomatoes, toasted pine nuts, garlic, pepperoni and a 1/4 cup or 60ml of olive oil in a food processor until you have a smooth paste.

Add in the arugula or rocket and the second 1/4 cup or 60ml olive oil and process again until you have a smooth paste.

Taste the pesto and add salt and lemon juice as needed.  I put about 1/4 teaspoon flakey sea salt and two teaspoon fresh lemon juice. Whir one last time to combine.

This makes a fabulous pasta sauce, pizza sauce or serve with crusty bread to dip.

Enjoy!

What’s the funniest/strangest thing you have seen out in public? Leave me a photo in the comments! Let's keep it clean, people!

Spicy Onion Paratha #TwelveLoaves

The name paratha comes from two words in Hindi and Urdu, parat meaning layer or flake and atta, which is flour, but not all paratha are multi-layered; some are simple flatbreads. All are cooked on a tawa or griddle. (P.S. It's pronounced prata. Just two syllables with the stress on the first.)

When we lived in Malaysia all those years, I volunteered in a monthly Booster Club fundraiser called PAC Shack. PAC stood for Panther Activity Center and once upon a time, it was actually a shack out in the field where moms and dads and even students served burgers with all the fixings and other goodies to raise funds for team uniforms and sports equipment.

By the time I joined the Booster Club roster of volunteers, we had a kitchen up in the main high school building with little ventilation, sad extractor fans and cardboard spread on the floor to stop us sliding around on the inevitable grease that accumulated from cooking fatty meat patties on the big diner-type flat grills.  By the time I had left KL, we had moved into bigger better facilities, with room to work and a kitchen sink with actual hot running water. But the one thing we never could get around were the tears when it was time to peel and slice onions in an enclosed space, no matter how well ventilated. The onions were always my job because I was the only one who didn’t bawl.

I’d take my 10-15 pounds out to a picnic table overlooking the school pool and get after it all by my lonesome, creating mountains of sliced onions to adorn the more than 600 burgers the other ladies were inside grilling and wrapping and popping in huge warmers before the lunch bell rang.

The moral of this story is, always get someone who wears contact lenses to slice your onions.  Those were my shields of eye protection! I found out the hard way that without them, I do cry.

This month my Twelve Loaves group decided on onions as our theme and I was delighted! I've been making paratha and chapati and naan for years so they seemed like the perfect oniony departure from the normal yeast bread I usually undertake for these challenges. I found a recipe online for an onion paratha that sounded fabulous. And indeed it is. I've added garlic and a bit more coriander, quantified for clarity and changed the method up in a quite a few ways that I hope will encourage someone to give it a try.

Ingredients
1 cup or 150g wholemeal wheat flour, plus extra for dusting as you roll the flatbread out
1 medium onion (about 6 1/3 oz or 180g)
1 clove garlic
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 small hot chilies
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon ground coriander
Small bunch (about 3/4 oz or 20g) cilantro or coriander leaves
1 tablepoon olive oil, plus extra for sautéing the vegetables and greasing the griddle
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

Method
Mince your onion, garlic and chilies as finely as you can. Do the same with your cilantro. I cut off the long, hard stems but minced the tender parts with the leaves.

In a medium-sized saucepan, drizzle in a little oil and add your cumin seeds.

Watch closely so they don’t burn but let them toast till they are a little darker and then add in your minced onion, garlic and chilies and stir well. If the pan is too dry, drizzle in a little more oil.

Cook the mixture over a low to medium heat, stirring often. You want everything to brown but not to scorch. When the mixture is nicely browned, add in the chopped cilantro, along with the ground coriander and the garam masala. Stir well and remove from the heat and allow to cool.

In a large mixing bowl, or the bowl of your stand mixer, combine the flour, onion mixture, 1 tablespoon olive oil and the salt.

Add in 1/4 cup or 60ml warm water and mix thoroughly.

Now add more warm water, a tablespoon at a time, mixing well in between additions. Different flours require more or less water but you are looking for a nice cohesive soft dough. I ended up adding three tablespoons to get the right consistency.

Knead the dough by hand or machine for a few minutes.  Form it into a nice round ball.

Drizzle a little oil in a bowl and roll the ball around to grease it. Cover the bowl with cling film and set aside to rest for 20-30 minutes. I find that the longer I let the dough rest, the easier it is to roll into circles once it’s divided, so I make it earlier in the afternoon and let it rest until just before I am ready to serve dinner.

When you are ready to cook the paratha, divide the ball into six equal pieces.

First cut it in half, then each half into three pieces.

Sprinkle your clean work surface with some flour and use a rolling pin to roll each ball into a circle. Sprinkle on extra flour as necessary to keep the dough from sticking.

The hand is for scale. Each circle is about 8 inches or 20cm across.

Heat your griddle pan and drizzle on a little oil. Place the circle on the hot pan and watch it carefully. Brush the top with some more oil.

When little bubbles start to form on the top flip the paratha over to cook the other side.

Press down with your spatula to make sure that the paratha is making contact with the griddle. Cook for a few minutes, flipping a couple more times if necessary, until both sides have lovely brown spots all over.

I like to stack the paratha in a little sleeve made of folded aluminum foil to keep warm until I am ready to serve.

These are great with any kind of curry, like potato, chicken, fish or just dal but I must confess to warming one the next morning and nibbling on it while I sipped my cup of coffee. Divine.

Enjoy!

Are you a fan of all things bread and all things allium, by which I mean the onion family?  Then you are going to love this month’s Twelve Loaves recipes.

• Caramelized Leek and Onion Focaccia by Renee at Kudos Kitchen By Renee
• Caramelized Onions Muffins by Kathya at Basic N Delicious
• Caramelized Vidalia Onion Rolls by Lora at Cake Duchess
• Crusty Cheese and Onion Bread by Karen at Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Leek Bread with Red Curry by Rossella at Ma che ti sei mangiato
• Onion and Fennel Rye by Donna at Cookistry
• Onion Cheddar Bread by Dionne at Try Anything Once Culinary
• Onion Rolls by Holly at A Baker’s House
• Rustic French Onion Focaccia by Felice at All That’s Left Are The Crumbs
• Sausage, Onion and Cheese Muffins by Renee at Magnolia Days
• Spicy Onion Paratha by Stacy at Food Lust People Love
• Spinach and Onion Braid by Liz at That Skinny Chick Can Bake