A Touch of Mediterranean : HEALTHY "Eggplant Fatteh" Recipe

In this recipe you will experience the taste of Mediterranean flavor with a healthy kick!
This dish can be served for lunch or dinner; both work! 

Warning : This recipe is Fillllled with flavor! So try to keep up with it's tastiness! 

Ingredients :
Serving size : 6  

1 whole large classic eggplant cut up in medium sized circles
2 cups of fat free yogurt 
​6 whole wheat toasts
5 tablespoons of tomato paste
1/2 cup of hot water
6 teaspoons of freshly minced garlic 
4 teaspoons of salt
A handful of chopped parsley
1/4 cup of peeled almonds
1 diced large tomato
1 lb of spiced and drained ground beef 
1 diced medium sized onion
Olive oil

Directions

1 - Get a saucepan and add a tablespoon of olive oil and the diced onion. Let it cook for 5 minutes then add the ground beef. Let the onion and beef cook on low heat while occasionally stirring for 20 minutes.  

2- While the ground beef is cooking, start preparing the red sauce. Get a saucepan and add 2 teaspoons of olive oil and three teaspoons of garlic. Let the garlic cook till starts to darken in color then add the 5 tablespoons of  tomato paste and 2 teaspoons of salt. While stirring the mixture together slowly add the 1 cup of boiling water. The mixture now is supposed to be in a thick liquid form. 

3 - Cut up 5 whole wheat toasts in squares. Then get a large glass casserole dish and place all the toast squares at the bottom of it covering the whole casserole area. 

4 - Pour half of the tomato sauce on the toast squares. Add another 1/4 a cup of hot water on top. Make sure the toast is completely soaked in the red sauce and you can see some sauce 1/2 an inch above the toast layer. This will eliminate any chance of your dish burning because of the water vapor. 

5 - Add the eggplant slices on top of the toast layer and drizzle it with olive oil. Make sure there is a bit of olive oil on all  the eggplant slices. 

6 - Add the rest of the tomato sauce mixture over the eggplants. Add a 1/4 of cup of hot water if the tomato sauce is not enough to cover the whole area. 

7 - Place the casserole dish in the oven on 250 Celsius for 35 minutes. After 15 minutes of cooking stab the eggplants with a a fork to make sure they cook all the way through.

8 - While your dish is cooking in the oven, prepare the yogurt sauce. Get a bowl and add the 2 cups of yogurt , the 3 teaspoons of freshly minced garlic and add 2 teaspoons of salt. Add 3 tablespoons of water. Mix the yogurt mixture unit it is in a thick liquid form.

9  - Dice a toast into small cubes and get a frying pan. Add a tablespoon of olive oil and add the toast cubes ( to make croutons ) as well as a quarter of a cup of peeled almonds. Cook till golden.

10 - After the eggplant dish is cooked. Take it out of the oven and let it cool off for 5 minutes.

11- Add the yogurt sauce on top of the eggplant/tomato sauce layer. Make sure it is completely covered with the yogurt sauce. 

12 - Add the ground beef and onion on top of the yogurt layer (Make sure it is wide spread evenly ).

13 - Garnish your dish with the diced tomato, chopped parsley and the golden almonds and homemade croutons.

14 - Now your delicious Mediterranean dish is ready!! Serve and enjoy !