Spinach Eggplant "Pie"

A few weeks ago, Scot and I were able to go out for a bite to eat.  By ourselves.  It was amazing and much needed and we ended up at this little cafe not far from the house that served Mediterranean-type fare.   Seeing as it's pretty easy to eat healthy at such places, we enjoyed perusing the menu, settling on a hearty lentil soup and a "spinach pie".  I ordered the spinach and mushroom variety, while Scot ordered the eggplant one.  I wish I had ordered his!  But then again, I pretty much always wish I ordered what he did.

Last night, I decided to recreate our meal, complete with my favorite lentil soup.  My version of the eggplant pie, though, had more in it.  They were easy to put together and I think the only issue I had was rolling my dough out a little too thin on one.  But I recovered and we enjoyed a delicious meal!

I'm also envisioning this stuff on pasta, or with some lentils thrown in to make it a complete one-dish meal.  It was so yummy and even if you don't like eggplant normally, you should give this a try.

It should be noted that my boys ate this and the soup without a word of complaint and a smile on their lips.  I was a happy momma with happy taste buds!

Spinach Eggplant "Pie" ...or calzone.
Serves 4

• 1 T EVOO
• 1 medium eggplant (about 1 lb).  Skins on, cut into 1/2 inch cubes (5 cups)
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 14 oz cans diced tomatoes - undrained
• 1 box frozen spinach, thawed and drained
• 1 T dried parsley
• 1 T lemon juice (Scot thought this addition made it taste too acidic, but I liked it, so use your own judgement.  You can always sprinkle some on after if you decide you want it.)
• 1/4 t salt
• A ball of pizza dough - store bought or homemade

-- In a large/deep skillet or medium saucepan, heat  your oil.  Once hot, add eggplant, garlic and onion and saute for about 5 minutes until onions are soft.
-- Add in tomatoes, spinach, and parsley and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes until the eggplant starts to get really soft and break apart.  Stir occasionally.
-- Mixture should be thick but not quite sticking to the pan when you're done.  If it's loosing liquid too fast, simmer covered.  Remove from heat when done.
-- Preheat oven to 400
--  Take ball of dough and divide into 4 equal balls.  Roll them out into circles making sure to not roll them too thin.
-- Take 1 1/4 cups of the mixture and plop it onto one half of each circle.  Take the dough, cover the mixture, and fold/crimp the edges to seal.  Transfer to a cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes until golden brown.
(If you'd made a calzone before, this is the same idea, just with different inner ingredients)