Eggplant (Turkish Style)

A plain layered casserole of eggplant and ground meat, of the kind that filled weekday menus in interwar American recipe books. The one thing to watch is that half an hour is optimistic for raw eggplant.

• Moderate ovenRead this as about 350-375F. The half cup of water and the melted shortening mean the lower layers partly steam rather than roast.
• TimingThirty minutes will not reliably soften raw eggplant slices, and the meat layers need to reach 160F throughout. Either fry or roast the slices first, or cover the pan and give it 50 to 60 minutes, uncovering at the end to brown.
• Salting the eggplantOlder varieties are often said to have been bitterer than today's. Salting sliced eggplant for 20 minutes and blotting it dry still helps, and is usually credited with collapsing the flesh so it absorbs less fat.
• The meatUnspecified here; in American books of this sort it was often beef, or a beef-and-pork mixture. Lamb is closer to the Turkish original and stands up better to the eggplant.
• ShorteningTwo tablespoons of whatever household fat was to hand; "shortening" of this period could be lard as readily as a hydrogenated vegetable fat. Olive oil is the more appropriate fat for the dish and needs no adjustment in quantity.
• Pan size"Until dish is full" assumes a deep casserole rather than a shallow baking dish. A 2-quart dish takes one large eggplant and half a pound of meat in about three layers each.
• SeasoningSalt, pepper and parsley only. Garlic, tomato, and in many versions cinnamon or allspice, appear in the Turkish dishes this imitates and are worth adding.
• YieldSix as a light lunch, as stated; three or four as a main course with bread and yogurt.