Late summer bounties – Enjoy eggplant and tomatoes with this recipe

Eggplant shows up in a ton of south Louisiana dishes from Angels on Horseback to roasted eggplant soup to deep-fried eggplant Parmesan. It’s one of the last crops of summer, hanging around farms and backyards along with hot peppers and okra while other summer fruits and vegetables have petered out and growers transition to fall plants. This weekend, the Red Stick Farmers Market features eggplant as its final Fresh Fest star item, encouraging patrons to pick up the different varieties of the nightshade brought by regional family farms.

I like a low-maintenance eggplant dish, one that doesn’t require frying, babysitting or deploying multiple steps. Here’s one that fits the bill. It’s a versatile side, pairing nicely with seafood and meat alike, and it’s enriched with shredded cheese and crunchy breadcrumbs. It takes just a few minutes to assemble and gets better the next day.

Crunchy Baked Eggplant
Serves 6-8

One medium-large eggplant, sliced into 1/4-inch discs
One small (or one-half medium) yellow or white onion, thinly sliced
2-4 tomatoes, sliced
Dried oregano leaves, salt and pepper for seasoning layers
1/4 cup chicken broth
1 cup shredded sharp white cheddar cheese, or your favorite
3/4 cup breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a two-quart Pyrex pan with cooking spray and begin layering the eggplant, onion and tomatoes, seasoning each with pinches of oregano, salt and pepper. Pour chicken broth in to the bottom of pan, to ensure the eggplant doesn’t dry out while cooking. Top eggplant layers with cheese, then breadcrumbs. Dot top with pieces of butter and bake for one hour.