“so what are you doing tonight?”
“making eggplant parmigiano.”
“ooh, sounds fancy. is this for a girl?”
“yeah.”
“is she your girlfriend?”
“kinda.”
i have nothing even remotely witty to say...for now
i was poor and lived alone so i had only made relatively simple things before then: mac and cheese, basic chicken, pizza with premade crust and sauce. but i really wanted to show off. but with what? eggplant parmigiano. i searched the vastness of the internet for something that sounded good. the one i liked required me to fry the eggplant. i never fried anything before then. it was an unmitigated disaster. when she walked through the door i apologized for the smell, and i watched the next batch much closer.
we stayed at her place that night.
the final product was very good and i was very proud; however, things are different now. she and i are long done. i don’t fry the eggplant (or anything for that matter). and the sauce? it has evolved into perfection.
eggplant parmigiano
~7 cups marinara sauce
2 medium-large ripe eggplant (shiny and smooth)
3 cups bread crumbs
kosher salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp “italian seasoning”
3 eggs
1 cup flour
fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced
parmigiano reggiano cheese, grated.
slice eggplant into 1/2 inch thick rounds. salt liberally and let sit for one hour.
in the mean time mix bread crumbs, spices and 1/4 tsp kosher salt in one bowl. beat eggs in another bowl. and put the flour in a third bowl.
after one hour rinse the eggplant under cold water and pat dry with paper towels. heat the oven to 375 F. dip each slice into the flour, followed by the eggs, and finally into the breadcrumb mixture. place on a cookie sheet. bake for about 15 minutes.
reduce the heat to 350F
cover the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish with marinara sauce. place one layer of breaded eggplant over the sauce. lay mozzarella over each slice followed by parmigiano, and then another 1-2 cups marinara sauce. repeat the eggplant, cheeses and sauce.
bake for about 30 minutes. let cool 5 minutes before serving.
Never a good idea to start with eggplant
ha! maybe not, but it was worth it.
i like to jump right into the hard stuff. it makes the easy stuff even easier.
(the first bread i ever made was ciabatta)
Great story. I would have been charmed by the effort. Saw you on TasteStopping!
go tastestopping!