Greek baked eggplant with chickpeas and feta
Roasted eggplant and chickpeas baked in a cinnamon-scented tomato sauce under a layer of feta that turns golden at the edges.
- 65 min total
- 20 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 4
- About $3.26 a serving
- 480 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegetarian
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 2 eggplant, medium, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 can crushed tomatoes
- 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup feta cheese, crumbled
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped (optional)
- 1 French bread, for serving (optional)
From your pantry
- ¼ cup olive oil, divided
- 1¾ tsp salt, divided
- 1½ tsp dried oregano
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp sugar
- ½ tsp black pepper
Each serving has about 480 calories, 18 g protein, 53 g carbs and 25 g fat, and costs about $3.26 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No crushed tomatoes? Diced tomatoes work.
- No feta cheese? Goat cheese works.
- No fresh parsley? Cilantro works.
- No French bread? Sourdough bread works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the oven to 425°F. On a , the eggplant with 3 tablespoons oil and 1 teaspoon salt and spread it out.
Preheat. Preheating means turning the oven on before you start, so it’s fully hot when the food goes in. Food that starts in a cold oven cooks unevenly and doesn’t brown the same.
How you’ll know: The oven beeps or its light clicks off, usually 10 to 15 minutes after you turn it on.
Sheet pan. A sheet pan is a flat metal baking tray with a low rim all the way around. The rim catches juices, and the wide surface lets food spread out and brown.
How you’ll know: Everything fits in one layer with a little space between the pieces.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
until soft and in spots, 20 to 25 minutes, stirring once.
Roast. Roasting means cooking in a hot oven, around 400°F to 450°F, usually spread out on a sheet pan. The dry heat browns the outside and brings out sweetness, especially in vegetables.
How you’ll know: The edges are browned and a little crisp, and a fork slides easily into the thickest piece.
Brown. Browning means cooking until the outside turns brown, which is where a lot of savory flavor comes from. Give food room and time without stirring, or it steams and stays gray.
How you’ll know: The food looks brown rather than gray, and the kitchen smells toasty and savory.
Timer: 22 min
Dolly’s tip: Eggplant should be creamy all the way through, not spongy. Squeeze a cube to check.Meanwhile, heat the last tablespoon of oil in a large oven-safe over medium heat. Cook the onion until soft, about 5 minutes, then the garlic for 1 minute.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Medium heatTimer: 6 min
Add the tomatoes, chickpeas, oregano, cinnamon, sugar, pepper and the rest of the salt. until slightly , about 10 minutes.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Thicken. Thickening means cooking a sauce or soup until it’s less runny, by simmering it down or adding something like cornstarch. A thicker sauce clings to food instead of pooling on the plate.
How you’ll know: It coats the back of a spoon, and a line drawn through it with your finger holds its shape.
Medium heatTimer: 10 min
the eggplant into the sauce and scatter the feta over the top.
Fold. Folding means mixing gently by scooping from the bottom and turning it over the top, instead of stirring hard. It keeps light mixtures airy and soft things like berries or herbs in one piece.
How you’ll know: You use slow, wide strokes and stop as soon as there are no streaks left.
Roast. Roasting means cooking in a hot oven, around 400°F to 450°F, usually spread out on a sheet pan. The dry heat browns the outside and brings out sweetness, especially in vegetables.
How you’ll know: The edges are browned and a little crisp, and a fork slides easily into the thickest piece.
until bubbling and the feta is at the edges, 15 to 20 minutes.
Bake. Baking means cooking in the oven with dry heat all around the food. It cooks evenly from every side, so you can mostly leave it alone.
How you’ll know: It’s golden on top and passes the recipe’s check, like a clean toothpick or the right temperature.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Timer: 17 min
Sprinkle with parsley and serve hot or warm, with crusty bread if you like.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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