Eggplant Recipes: Eggplant Parmesan
Posted on Mar 25, 2009 10:34:27 PM
Let’s go back to a classic: eggplant parmesan. This indeed is a lighter version, as the eggplant is grilled and not fried (speaking of grilling eggplants, if you are more keen on even lighter eggplant recipes, try the grilled eggplant).
Interesting historical note. Traditionally, the name of the dish is explained as Eggplant Parma-style, “parmigiana” (parmesana in old Italian) being the adjective for the city of Parma. According to another interesting theory though, the name comes from parma = shield, which would recall the layers that compose the eggplant parmesan dish.
This eggplant recipe for Parmigiana is for two people:
- 2 eggplants
- 400g (about 1 pound) tin of chopped tomatoes
- 1 ball of mozzarella cheese
- 4 leaves of basil
- extra virgin olive oil,
- salt and pepper
- 2 cloves of garlic
- red wine vinegar and a pinch of sugar (optional)
- Parmesan cheese
After cutting the eggplants into ½ cm (0.2 in) slices we need to get the water out. Put a colander in the basin, rub some salt on each slice and lay them in the colander, one on top of the other in two piles. Place a dish on top of the piles and, on it, whatever is heavy enough to push down, like two packets of pasta. Leave gravity do its job for 30 minutes.
In the meantime prepare the sauce for the eggplant parmesan layers. This is not the real conserva sauce, as it should be, but a quicker version (these are hectic days with lot of work and no fun). Heat a frying pan and add some extra virgin olive oil. When it’s hot, add the cloves of garlic and the basil leaves. When they start to shrink, pour the chopped tomatoes and let it simmer until the liquid is absorbed. Adjust salt and pepper and add just a little bit of sugar if you find it too acid, and a little bit of vinegar to give it a weird twist.
After the 30 minutes have passed, preheat a grill or a non stick pan, no need to use oil. Now the eggplant slices should be wet, get some kitchen paper, pat dry each slice, grill them, and put them aside when they are brownish.
When the last eggplant slice has cooled down, preheat the oven at 180°. Take a not too big oven proof pan and start building your shield. It goes like this: a layer of eggplants, a ladle of tomato sauce, a sprinkle of Parmesan, two or three pieces of mozzarella. And so on, until the slices are finished. The top layer should be only tomato sauce and Parmesan.
Cook the eggplant parmesan in the oven for 30 minutes or until the top is golden.
Related posts:
- Eggplant Recipes: Grilled Eggplant There you go, grilled eggplant as a main course....