We've been having a wild and crazy time here in New York. One of the first things we did? We made Eggplant Parmesan (yes, I know. We really represent the youth of America). I took my gigantic eggplant that I got from my CSA and chopped it up thin-ish.
Meanwhile, Alli grated two kinds of cheese - Romano and Parmesan.
I mixed the grated Romano with some bread crumbs (I used whole wheat panko - a Japanese brand - they're finer than regular bread crumbs or something) and some dried basil.
I noticed that the recipe (this recipe - I used it as a loose guideline) said to salt the eggplant slices and put them in a strainer and leave them for half an hour. I got hungry, so I only waited ten minutes.
I rinsed them off and tried to get the bread crumbs to stick to the eggplant slices. They didn't. What to do?
I heated up some olive oil in a pan and racked my brain. I decided to make an egg wash. That's when you mix up an egg and some water and use it to try to make things stick better. Things like panko/Romano cheese mixtures.
I dipped the eggplant in the egg wash, then dipped it in the panko/Romano mixture. It worked alright. I started to fry.
I let them get golden brown on each side and then flipped them over. It took about two minutes per side.
Then came the fun part. I lay the slices down in a casserole dish. On top of each slice, I put a little bit of homemade marinara. I used this recipe, minus the turkey. Then I put a slice of fresh mozzarella and sprinkled some Parmesan on top. Woo hoo! We're cooking now.
I laid a second slice of eggplant on top of each slice and repeated the sauce, cheese, cheese moves. Here's how it looks:
Then I baked it at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.
Oh it looks so good. I made some spaghetti on the side (quinoa, don't cha know. It's healthier) and mixed it in the leftover sauce.
It was an awesome dinner. Alli loved it and she claimed to not like eggplant. Here she is enjoying it. What an excellent start to our trip.
1 comment:
how nice to have a sous chef! that looks delish
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