Baked Melitzanes Saganaki is an easy appetizer made with fried eggplants, tomato sauce and two Greek cheeses: feta and kasseri and then baked in the oven.
I first tried this dish at a restaurant in Kefalari, not far from Argos, in Peloponnese, which I liked.
Before going to the recipe let me tell you a few things about some unique sites around Argos, which are worth visiting. If you are staying in Nafplio and have a car, it is only 12 km (about 15 – 20 minutes drive).
Argos is the biggest town in Argolis and a major center for the area. It is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world with a history dating back to the Mycenaean era. The fortress of Larissa is situated on a hill and is visible from the seafront of Nafplio.
Larissa, Argos castle, view from Nafplio
The fortress of Larissa on top of the hill and the archaeological site of Argos with its theatre are worth visiting. However, we didn’t visit the fortress as it was closed due to renovations.
Kefalari is a Village in Argos in Argolida in the Peloponnese Region of Greece. When our children visited us last year, we planned a daily excursion to Argos. We visited the ancient theatre of Argos and not far away, 3 km to the southwest we reached Kefalari and a couple more kilometres is the Pyramid of Hellenikon. We decided to visit the Pyramid first so that on our way back we would stop at the Church of Zoodochos Pigi or else the Virgin Mary Kefalariotissa, is built in a cave next to the river Erasinos, with lots of tavernas and beautiful scenery around it.
We had lunch at the restaurant “Palia Istoria”, which is the closest to the stairs leading to the church. The food was delicious and the service excellent!
The dish consisted of three layers: baked or fried eggplants, tomato sauce and cheeses. It was baked and served in a ceramic bowl, much deeper than the ones I used but mine worked well.
The appetizer was called “Melitzanes Saganaki” and although technically the term “saganaki” is not correct, as sagani or saganaki is a frying pan with two handles and any dish make in that pan is called saganaki, I kept the same name.
I tried to recreate this dish from what I tasted so I used Tsakonikes eggplants, made an easy tomato sauce, similar to Marinara Sauce but much simpler and added feta and kasseri, which both melt and make this dish creamy.
The dish may not be exactly like the one we had at the restaurant but it turned really good and we enjoyed it. The dish is simple and versatile, so you can use any type of eggplants.
However, if the eggplants you use are bitter, you can find instructions how to remove the bitterness in my recipe for Melitzanes me Tyria (eggplants with cheese). Of course, you can make your own tomato sauce and add melting cheeses of your preference.
I baked them in six individual ceramic pots, 13 cm diametre but you can use one oven proof dish if you prefer.
These can be made ahead, wrapped in cling film and freezed.
If cooking them straight away, proceed as in recipe. If you freeze them, you do not necessarily need to thaw them but after preheating your oven, lower heat to 160 degrees C, (mine is fan forced), and cook them for more time, about 10 – 15 minutes to give some time for the ice to melt.
Baked Melitzanes Saganaki is an easy appetizer made with fried eggplants, tomato sauce and two Greek cheeses: feta and kasseri and then baked in the oven. Note: Modern types of eggplants are not bitter but if the variety you use are bitter, you must first remove the bitterness and then proceed to the other steps. I used a Greek variety called Tsakonikes, but you can use any type you like. Some more recipes using eggplants (aubergines) Hounkiar Begendi is a Turkish dish with stewed lamb or beef, served on a bed of creamy eggplant puree. This recipe literaly means "the sultan was satisfied". Eggplants (aubergines) are now seasonal and combined with potatoes and cheese makes this a delicious summer meal. The secret of this dish is the addition of potatoes which suck up all the deliciousness of the sauce, which make it irresistible. Moussakas, is the most famous Greek dish which is layered with sautéed slices of potatoes and eggplants (in some places they also add zucchini), with the meat sauce in the middle layer and topped with béchamel sauce and myzithra or graviera cheese. Melitzanosalata is a traditional Greek dip / appetizer made with eggplants which have been charred over charcoal or over an open flame, until the skin blisters, to get a smoky taste. The skin is then removed, as well as the seeds, if any, and the eggplant is either finely chopped, mashed with a fork or pureed. Imam Bayildi is a dish consisting of whole eggplants, fried in olive oil, until they become soft and then they are stuffed with a filling made of onions, garlic and tomatoes and baked in the oven. Brown Lentils with Smoked Eggplant and Pasta is inspired from my Cypriot dish called Fakhes Moudjentra. It is a light dish with a lot of flavour from the smoked eggplant as well as sweetness from the onion and carrot. The pasta is cooked in the leftover fluid, which absorbs all the flavour and adds body to the dish, making it a healthy, nutritional and filling dish.
Baked Melitzanes (Eggplants) Saganaki
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6
Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving:
Calories: 465 Total Fat: 31g Saturated Fat: 11g Trans Fat: 0g Unsaturated Fat: 19g Cholesterol: 40mg Sodium: 844mg Carbohydrates: 39g Net Carbohydrates: 0g Fiber: 11g Sugar: 15g Sugar Alcohols: 0g Protein: 14g
Recipes using Eggplants (aubergines)
Melitzanes me tyria (Greek Eggplants with Cheese)
Melitzanes Papoutsakia (Stuffed Eggplants)
Vazania (melitzanes) giahni (stewed eggplants)
Hounkiar Begendi (stewed veal) and Eggplant Purée
Eggplant – Potato Casserole Gratin with Feta and Mozzarella
Traditional Greek Moussakas
Melitzanosalata or Eggplant salad
Imam Bayildi (A Stewed Eggplant dish of Politiki Kouzina)
Greek Brown Lentils with Smoked Eggplant and Pasta
Arni me Melitzanes sti Gastra (Greek Lamb and Eggplant Casserole)
Baked Melitzanes (Eggplants) Saganaki
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Kopiaste and Kali Orexi!
Angie
Eggplant and cheese…my favourites..this looks right up my alley, Ivy.
Alex
Hi,
Your Article is nice. we are made simple eggplant and use a gas and used the oven.I love eggplant vegetable and I do not use another recipe.i read this post and next time I will try this dish and tell to how to make the dish.