Eggplant is one of those vegetables that has to be cooked properly or it is nasty!
When I owned Sister’s, I used to arrive early on Friday mornings to get a jump on the antipasta prep for the weekend. I was standing at the stove working on a new caponata recipe, when a local chef walked in to see what I was cooking. She informed me that eggplant was her favorite vegetable “provided it’s cooked properly”. Well naturally I was confident that I knew what I was doing…I owned the business! I gave her a sample and she simply smiled and said, “hmm…don’t give up” Yikes! not good to be the chef of an Italian gourmet deli and offering customers “nasty eggplant”…
I developed the following recipe after pounds and pounds of eggplant, buckets of olive oil and a lot of sampling. It is delicious!
6 servings
Preheat oven 375*F
2 large eggplants, sliced crosswise ½ inch thick
2 tablespoons coarse salt
1 cup olive oil
2 cups Marinara*
1 cup Balsamella*
½ lb mozzarella, thinly sliced
½ cup Reggiano-Parmigiano, freshly grated
Salt eggplant on both sides…place eggplant in colander for 1 hour…brush salt off eggplant and pat dry with paper towel
Heat oil in large skillet over medium…fry eggplant in batches, turning once until golden 4-5 minutes total…add more olive oil if necessary
Place cooked eggplant on paper towel
Spread a thin layer of Marinara in bottom of shallow 9 inch baking dish
Layer alternately with eggplant, Marinara and mozzarella…ending with a layer of Balsamella
Sprinkle Reggiano-Parmigiano over the top and bake 20 minutes
*recipes to follow
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
½ cup whipping cream
½ cup cereal cream
Salt, pepper and nutmeg
Bouquet garni : 1 sprig thyme, 1 sprig parsley, 1 bay leaf, 2 peppercorns, 1 slice onion and ½ clove of garlic tied in cheesecloth
Melt butter til foaming…add flour and whisk together…cook over low heat 2 minutes stirring constantly DO NOT LET ROUX BROWN
Combine creams and bring to just before a boil…pour in a steady stream into roux whisking constantly until mixture is smooth
Add ½ teaspoon sea salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper and the bouquet garni. Place pot in water bath* and simmer ½ hour or until thick…
Remove the bouquet garni
A water bath is a larger pan of hot water…make sure that the water is half way up the side of the pot
MARINARA SAUCE
makes 2 cups
28 ounces best quality diced plum tomatoes
¼ cup olive oil
4 cloves coarsely chopped garlic
¼ cup sliced fresh basil
¼ cup chopped flat leaf parsley
½ teaspoon sea salt
cracked pepper to taste
Heat oil …gently saute garlic…do not brown
Add herbs, salt and pepper…saute 30 seconds…add tomatoes
Bring to boil…reduce heat…simmer til thick
