Rich and Flavorful Eggplant Cheese Gratin
Eggplant Gratin with Rich Flavor from Seoul Milk Emmental and Gouda Cheeses
Do you love gratins? Lately, I’ve been focusing on my health through exercise and diet. Eating only bland diet food, like plain chicken breast, can quickly lead to giving up. I recently discovered Seoul Milk’s Gouda and Emmental cheeses and decided to make a delicious diet meal after a long time. This gratin is hearty, packed with ingredients, and doesn’t even need pasta or rice! The combination of Seoul Milk Gouda and Emmental cheeses creates a deep, savory, and rich flavor. Best of all, you can make it in the oven, air fryer, or even the microwave! Here’s how to make this delicious and versatile eggplant gratin.
Main Ingredients
- 1/2 Eggplant
- 1/2 Zucchini
- 2 slices Seoul Milk Emmental Cheese
- 2 slices Seoul Milk Gouda Cheese
Cooking Instructions
Step 1
Introducing Seoul Milk Emmental and Gouda Cheeses. Each slice captures the authentic European cheese flavor. The deep, rich taste of Emmental and the soft, savory taste of Gouda are wonderful on their own, but when combined, they double the deliciousness! You can find these cheeses at Seoul Milk’s Na100 Shop, Homeplus, Lotte Mart, and sometimes E-Mart Everyday.
Step 2
First, thinly slice the zucchini and eggplant. You can slice them thicker if you prefer more texture, but I prefer thin slices for this recipe.
Step 3
Slice the eggplant and zucchini thinly and prepare them. (This instruction is similar to the previous one, but kept as per input.)
Step 4
The essential ingredient for gratin: cheese! Cut the Gouda and Emmental cheeses into 4-5 pieces each. For a decorative touch, I sometimes add Seoul Milk Cheddar cheese too!
Step 5
If you prefer a softer texture for the eggplant and zucchini, you can lightly pan-fry them in a little olive oil or butter. I lightly seared mine.
Step 6
Once the eggplant and zucchini are lightly cooked (or prepared raw), it’s time to stir-fry the vegetables for the gratin. Heat a little butter or olive oil in a pan. Start by sautéing the minced garlic and shrimp until fragrant.
Step 7
Add the prepared vegetables like broccoli, tomatoes, green beans, and any others you’re using, and stir-fry. I highly recommend keeping frozen vegetable mixes and green beans on hand – they are incredibly useful for diet cooking! Sauté over medium-low heat until lightly browned and tender-crisp.
Step 8
Arrange the lightly seared eggplant and zucchini slices at the bottom of your gratin dish.
Step 9
Once the vegetables are nicely sautéed, add your preferred tomato sauce, rosé sauce, or crushed tomatoes and cook briefly. Stirring the sauce with the vegetables melds the flavors beautifully.
Step 10
Add about 5 tablespoons of sauce. If you want an even heartier meal, you can add tofu noodles at this stage! Tofu noodles can be quite bland on their own, but they are surprisingly delicious when added to dishes like pasta or gratin.
Step 11
Generously spoon the vegetable and sauce mixture over the eggplant and zucchini layers. Then, top it off with the cut pieces of Seoul Milk Gouda and Emmental cheese.
Step 12
Can you see the difference between the gratin with tofu noodles and without, before the cheese is added? (This step describes the visual before adding cheese, connecting to the previous step.)
Step 13
Don’t worry if you don’t arrange the cheese perfectly; simply covering the top evenly works wonderfully too. Now, it’s time to cook! If using an oven or air fryer, bake at 170°C (340°F) for 6-10 minutes. If using a microwave, heat for about 2 minutes. Since all the ingredients are already cooked, you just need to melt the cheese and give it a light browning.
Step 14
I also served mine with some crispy whole wheat tortillas, pan-fried until golden. This meal was so satisfying, I questioned if a diet dish could actually be this delicious! The deep, rich flavor of the Emmental and the savory notes of the Gouda cheese are truly exceptional. I enjoyed it even without tofu noodles – it was simply fantastic!
Step 15
I’m constantly thinking about new, delicious diet recipes! Seoul Milk cheeses really open up a world of possibilities for creating more diverse and flavorful dishes. I highly recommend them for enhancing the taste of your meals! Even a single slice of their cheese is incredibly savory.
