Melanzane alla Parmigiana (Eggplant Parmigiana)

Eggplant gets a bad rap. Try this dish, and you will be hooked on this much-maligned fruit. Yes, fruit!   





Melanzane alla Parmigiana

or

Eggplant Parmesan

by Jami Floyd, Jax F. Floyd and Kurt Flehinger

 

Ingredients 

For the Tomato Sauce

1 onion, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

Handful thyme chopped

Handful Italian parsley chopped

3 or 4 large CSA tomatoes chopped

1 8 oz can of tomato sauce

2 T Olive Oil 

For the Melanzane 

2 large firm eggplant

1 small eggplant

1 onion, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, finely sliced

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 cup Parmesan cheese 

4 T Olive oil

5 ounces grated mozzarella (about 1/2 cup)

Handful fresh oregano, chopped
 

Preparation 

For the Tomato Sauce       
                            
In a medium saucepan, heat olive oil. Sauté onion until soft (about six minutes). Add garlic, and sauté until golden brown (another four minutes).

Add chopped tomatoes to the pot. Cook on low heat for an hour, frequently stirring to prevent tomatoes from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Cook until the tomatoes have broken down.

You turn the heat off while the sauce is still chunky or cook it longer for a smoother, sweeter tomato sauce.

(Alternatively, you can use your favorite store-bought tomato sauce.)
 

For the Melanzane

Preheat oven to 375°  

Remove any stems from eggplants and slice them into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Set aside.

Prepare cooking racks (cookie sheets or even plates will do) with paper towels. Prepare enough surfaces for your fried explant.

Pour just enough olive oil to coat the bottom frying pan over medium-high heat. When the oil is very hot, fry sliced eggplant–in batches. With a spatula, gently turn each slice to fry both sides until golden brown. After each batch, set aside on paper towel-lined racks.to catch the excess oil. Add oil, as necessary.

In a 7x11 lasagna pan, spread a layer of tomato sauce. Follow on with a dusting of parmesan cheese. Then top with a layer of fried eggplant slices. Where possible, use smaller eggplant slices to fill in gaps around the larger ones. 

Repeat the layering process until you run out of eggplant. But you’ll want to top the dish with sauce and parmesan.  

Then, add even grating of mozzarella cheese. 


Bake at 375° for ten minutes. 

Toss breadcrumbs in olive oil. After the dish has baked for 10 minutes, spread breadcrumbs evenly across the top of the dish.

Continue baking for 30 minutes, until bubbly underneath and golden brown on top.

(optional) Serve with green salad and/or spaghetti with garlic and oil.

Mangiare!

Helpful tip: We used two large frying pans to finish the frying job twice as fast!

Jami, Joelle, and Jax Floyd, and Kurt Flehinger

Kurt and Jami raised their 2 kids on the Upper West Side–pretty much in the kitchen. On holidays, as well as ordinary weekdays, Jax (a college student) and Joelle (who is studying public health) cook up something, everything from dips and salads to pizzas and ice creams. Favorite dishes: Sourdough pizza with garden toppings, basil pesto pasta, barbecue tacos, and anything with any beans.