INGREDIENTS

• medium-sized potatoes 1 kg.;
• eggplant 500 g.;
• 1 large onion;
• ripe fleshy tomatoes 500 g.;
• hard cheese 100 g;
• mayonnaise 3 tbsp.;
• sour cream (fat content of 20 percent or more) 3 tbsp.;
• garlic 2 cloves;
• vegetable oil 6 tbsp.;
• fresh dill and parsley a few sprigs;
• salt;
• dried basil pinch;
• ground black pepper 0.5 tsp.

METHOD

1. For the casserole, we will use potatoes cooked until half cooked. First, wash it thoroughly and peel it off. Pour the potatoes with clean cold water and put on fire. Before boiling, remove the resulting foam from the potatoes. When the potatoes boil, add some salt. Boil the potatoes for 5—10 minutes (depending on the variety of root crops) and drain the water. Let the potatoes cool to room temperature and cut them into slices about 5 mm. thick.
2. Let's wash the eggplant. It is advisable to use fresh young vegetables of small size. Cut the eggplant into slices 5—7 mm. thick. If the fruits are large, the circles can be cut in half. We put the chopped vegetables in a bowl and sprinkle them well with table salt so that the eggplants release the juice. After 15 minutes, blot the eggplant circles with a paper towel or towel to remove the released moisture. During frying, eggplant quickly absorbs vegetable oil and becomes very fatty and high-calorie. To avoid this, we use one culinary secret. Grease each eggplant circle on both sides with sunflower oil using a silicone brush. In the same way, grease the pan with oil. Fry eggplant until golden brown on both sides. Before each new serving of eggplant, we will grease the pan so that the vegetables do not burn.
3. Wash the tomatoes and onions. We cut them into circles of the same thickness as the rest of the vegetables. For casseroles, it is better to use ripe tomatoes of a small size.
4. Grind hard cheese on a grater with small holes. For eggplant casserole, any delicious cheese that you like is suitable: Russian, Dutch, mozzarella or some other. The main thing is that it melts well.
5. In a separate bowl, mix sour cream and mayonnaise. Peel the garlic cloves. Pass through a press or finely chop the garlic and add it to the mixture of sour cream and mayonnaise. Let's mix.
6. Lubricate the heat-resistant form with sunflower oil. Lay out the potato slices first. Top the potatoes with half of the mixture of sour cream, mayonnaise and garlic. Sprinkle a layer of potatoes with spices. Next, put slices of fried eggplant on top of the potatoes. Brush them with the rest of the mixture. Again, add some spices for flavor. Next lay out the circles of tomatoes and onions. Salt them and sprinkle with dried basil and black pepper. Sprinkle grated cheese on top of the vegetables.
7. Cover the mold with foil. We send it to the oven (180 degrees) for 40 minutes. After the specified time, remove the foil from the casserole and bake the dish for another 5—7 minutes.
8. Sprinkle the finished eggplant casserole with fresh parsley and fragrant dill. Serve hot.