Eggplant Parmesan

My first introduction to this wonderful dish was made, as a side dish, in some holiday meal by my entirely German Grandmother. It has become undoubtedly my favorite dish.

My love of all foods Italian though, comes from my Grandfather a 100 % Pennsylvania Dutchman. He was one of the youngest quartermaster sergeants in WW 1 and after he mustered out, went to work for his sister’s husband in N.Y.C. in an overcoat factory. Most of the tailors at the plant were Italian and he roomed with them. They would start the “gravy ” before going to work and then made the spaghetti and other dishes when they came home. My Grandfather became hooked on spaghetti. He had a sixth sense about it. Even though he lived 10 miles away, on nights when we would be having spaghetti, just as we sat down to dinner, he and my grandmother would be at the front door.

There are a number of variations to the recipe, this one is fairly cheesy.

Ingredients for Eggplant Parmesan

Medium to Large eggplant peeled and sliced into ½ inch disks
2 -3 eggs with a little water for egg wash
5- 6 tbs flour, seasoned with salt & pepper
Flavored bread crumbs
1+ cups vegetable oil
2 cups Marinara or tomato sauce
¼ cup sugar approximate
1 ½ pounds ricotta cheese
12 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions for Eggplant Parmesan

Peel and slice the eggplant. Set the flour in one large dish, the egg wash in a second and the bread crumbs in a third. Cover both sides of the eggplant with flour, dust off excess and wet completely in egg wash transfer to bread crumbs and cover completely .

In a frying pan large enough to accommodate small batches of eggplant place the oil, bring up to a medium high heat and fry the eggplant disks in batches until golden brown. Place on paper towels to drain after they are cooked. Add the sugar to the tomato sauce so that it is slightly sweet.

Using a Corningware 2 quart Blue Cornflower Casserole*, place a few spoonfuls of sauce on the bottom of the pan.Then using layers, place eggplant in a single layer top with ricotta sprinkled with a little of the mozzarella then a few more spoonfuls of sauce. Continue to layer ,ending with a layer of eggplant. on top of this layer spread some sauce and most of the mozzarella. When ready, bake at 375° for 30-45 minutes until hot and bubbly. Remove from the oven and let stand for 5-10 minutes to allow cheese to firm up.

Here are a few items to help make this recipe:
CORNINGWARE StoveTop 4-pc PYROCERAM Blue Cornflower Casserole Set
Anolon Advanced Hard Anodized Nonstick 12-Inch, 5-Quart Covered Saute Pan

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*Of course the directions about the Blue Cornflower pan is just a joke. I was thinking about one Julia Childs early TV shows, when while giving her directions she jokingly picked up a green plastic spoon and insisted that whatever it was she was making needed to be stirred with a green plastic spoon. It was only after the episode had aired they found that in a number of markets, green spoons were sold out the next day. It was then they realized the power of not only Julia, but of TV also!

Eggplant Parmesan

2013-08-02 19:14:33

Serves 4

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Ingredients

Medium to Large eggplant peeled and sliced into ½ inch disks
2 -3 eggs with a little water for egg wash
5- 6 tbs flour, seasoned with salt & pepper
Flavored bread crumbs
1+ cups vegetable oil
2 cups Marinara or tomato sauce
¼ cup sugar approximate
1 ½ pounds ricotta cheese
12 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese

Instructions

Peel and slice the eggplant. Set the flour in one large dish, the egg wash in a second and the bread crumbs in a third. Cover both sides of the eggplant with flour, dust off excess and wet completely in egg wash transfer to read crumbs and completely bread.
In a frying pan large enough to accommodate small batches of eggplant place the oil bring up to a medium high heat and fry the eggplant disks in batches until golden brown. Place on paper towels to drain after they are cooked. Add the sugar to the tomato sauce so that it is slightly sweet.
Using a Corningware 2 quart Blue Cornflower Casserole, place a few spoonfuls of sauce on the bottom of the pan.Then using layers place eggplant in a single layer top with ricotta sprinkled with a little of the mozzarella the a few more spoonfuls of sauce. Continue to layer ,ending with a layer of eggplant. on top of this layer spread some sauce and most of the mozzarella. When ready bake at 375° for 30-45 minutes until hot and bubbly. Remove from the oven and let stand for 5-10 minutes to allow cheese to firm up.

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Moussaka

Moussaka a very interesting dish that does take quite a lot of work to make, but the results are certainly worth it. My version doesn’t have a lot of layers. There are probably a million variations on this theme with multiple layers and different ingredients. I like this one as it makes a complete meal; meat, vegetable and potato all in one.

Ingredients for Moussaka

For the Meat Layer

1 lb of ground lamb ( you can substitute any kind of ground meat you want)
1 Onion diced
3 or 4 large garlic cloves finely diced
½ tsp allspice
½ tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tbs oregano – dried
3 or 4 tbs tomato paste
1 cup good red wine
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of lemon no more than 1 tbs

In a “non” non stick frying pan brown the meat moving it occasionally to keep from burning. When it begins to brown add the onion, garlic, allspice,cinnamon, black pepper, oregano. Cook until the onions are softened. Add the wine and deglaze the pan. Once deglazed add the tomato paste and the lemon and zest, stir and continue to cook until the meat is done. Take off heat and set aside.

Potato and Eggplant layers

Take 2 Yukon Gold or 2 or 3 red potatoes and slice about ¼ inch thick. Place them into a pot with boiling salted water and par boil for 5 or 6 minutes. Drain and run under cold water to cool. Take 1 or 2 eggplants peel and slice into ½ inch thick rounds, having enough to fill a layer in a 9 X 13 inch baking pan. Either on a grill or in a cast iron pan cook the eggplant and brown on both sides. Once done set aside.

Bechamel Sauce

1 large shallot finely chopped
1 garlic clove finely chopped
4 tbs butter
5 tbs flour
3-4 cups milk
salt & pepper
¼ cup grated Parmesan Cheese

In a large sauce pan place the butter and shallot and garlic and cook on medium heat until the shallot is softened. Once the shallot is softened, add the flour and mix until all the flour is combined, continue to cook for a few minutes more to cook out the flour, then add the milk, raise the heat to medium high to high and stir the sauce to dissolve the roux and begin thickening the sauce. As the sauce begins to heat up add the salt and pepper to taste and add the Parmesan, continue to cook until sauce is fairly thick. You want it thick enough to remain on the top of the casserole.

Assembling the Moussaka

Preheat oven to 350°

In a 9 X 13 inch baking dish place the potatoes in a single layer slightly overlapping to cover the bottom of the dish. On top of this place a layer of the eggplant. On top of the eggplant pour the meat mixture and spread evenly over all. Sprinkle a little Parmesan over the meat mixture. Pour the Bechamel sauce over all and sprinkle a little more Parmesan on the top.

meat and sprinkle parmesan — spread the meat and sprinkle Parmesan

Place in the oven and bake for 30 – 45 minutes. Casserole will be done when bubbly and top lightly browned.

Remove the casserole from the oven and let it rest for about 10 minutes. Don’t worry, it will still be hot but it needs to come together, if you cut it up too soon after taking it out of the oven it will run.

Here are few items to help with this recipe:
Kitchen Supply Glass Bake ‘N Take 9 Inch x 13 Inch Dish With Snap On Cover
OXO Good Grips Silicone Flexible Turner
Lodge Logic L17SK3 Pre-Seasoned Cast Iron Skillet, 17-inch