So, a nice Italian eggplant from Whole Foods, and we were in business. I started with a simple sauce -- minced onion and garlic, sweated to translucency, a few sprigs of thyme tossed in (still growing in the garden from last year) along with some kosher salt and red pepper flakes. Then a half cup of white wine, and a can of Muir Glen fire roasted, diced tomatoes. All simmered together gently on the stove. I like to bust up the sauce just a bit with an immersion blender, just to reduce the size of some of the tomato chunks. Not too much.
While that simmered, I coated the sliced eggplant (sliced on the bias to increase the surface area) in flour, then egg, then panko breadcrumbs seasoned with a bit of salt and dried oregano, and set them on a rack to set up a bit.
letting the coated slices rest a bit helps the crust to adhere
next step -- frying the slices in about a half inch of shimmering-hot peanut oil. You can use other oils, but I like peanut oil's high smoke-point and its nuetral flavor.
If your oil is nice and hot, your eggplant will soak up very little oil
After that, it's just a matter of assembling. I turned off the heat on the sauce, then stirred in a big handful of basil. Then I ladled a nice spoonful of that into a small casserole dish, layered on eggplant, a little more sauce, fresh mozzerella, a bit more sauce, and more basil and a sprinkling of parmesan. Takes longer to type it than to do it.
ready for the oven
It occurs to me that this pic looks an awful lot like my enchilada picture from a past post. Trust me, they taste very different. I am a big fan of the flavors of tomatoes and fresh herbs, and I have a weakness for cheese, so they tend to show up in my food quite often. The eggplant parm bakes in the oven just until the cheese is bubbly and brown -- just a few minutes, since all of the elements are still warm. It's a yummy vegetarian treat.
the finished dish, sprinkled with a bit of parsley from the garden
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