Eggplant Parmesan. (I will post the recipe below) with Cesar salad and Spinach-Feta Focaccia bread from the local Breadsmith.
For dessert a fresh fruit tort that I made. Sadly I cannot share the recipe because my great-grandmother would come back from the grave and murder me -- twice.
This was the baby's first time eating eggplant and he seemed to enjoy it. He loved the bread and the salad, of course. Since eggplants are funky shaped I made a mini-one for him and it was cute. I didn't want to put another picture here though so you'll have to take my word for it.
Eggplant Parmesan
1 medium eggplant
2 eggs
kosher salt
marinara sauce
15 oz container ricotta cheese (though, I only use half of it)
mozzarella cheese
bread crumbs
fresh basil
Italian seasoning - optional
Pre-heat oven to 375 F (190 C).
1. Slice up the eggplant into about half inch thick rounds. LIGHTLY salt both sides with kosher salt, put in a colander and let sit for approx 30 minutes. What this does is has the eggplant "weep" out lots of the water. This is a vital step for good Eggplant Parmesan because if you skip it you end up with soggy eggplant. Blech.
2. Mince up fresh basil and mix it with ricotta cheese. In one bowl, mix bread crumbs with Italian seasoning (or just use Italian bread crumbs). In another bowl lightly beat two eggs. (As I'm not a big fan of eggs we use egg replacer and it works fine)
3. After 30 minutes, blot the water from the eggplant rounds. I lightly press to make sure that I get as much of the water out as possible. Coat with egg and then breadcrumbs. Place on a non-stick cookie sheet. Place coated rounds in oven for 14 minutes (I flip them after 7).
4. Lightly coat the bottom of a 13x9 baking pan with Marinara sauce. Line bottom of the pan with the baked eggplant rounds. Place ricotta cheese over the round and cover with marinara. Place another round on top of the ricotta cheese/marinara and cover again with marinara. Top with mozzarella cheese.
5. Place back into oven until cheese is melted and warmed through -- approx. 20 minutes.
7 comments:
Wow, it sounds a lot simpler than it looks! I love how 'gourmet' your meals seem, yet they take little time to make at all... I almost think *I* could handle it!
Hmmm I'm not a huge fan of eggplant so much, but hey, I'm willing to give this one a try even...
you're making it so much harder to wait for the eggplant from our garden! ate meatballs today - thought of you!
Wow. Never tried eggplant before but that dish looks yummy. Maybe i'll have to be brave and venture out.
Great blog!! I love the menu ideas. Do you ever do any vegan meals?
I am so thrilled to see that I am not the only person who has never eaten eggplant! I bought one once, but ... Anyway, I'm going to give this recipe a try!
This looks really good, gonna try it!
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