Eggplant help requested.

Eggplant is one of Janet's favorite dishes, and we have a truck farmer nearby who grows some beauties. I'm looking for good ways to enhance my eggplant menus.

The following Batali recipe is a favorite here, in large part because it avoids the salting and pressing step -- the salting because Janet can't have salt and the pressing because of the additional time. Besides, the baked version is great to eat right off the baking tray.

But others ideas would be gratefully received. Thanks, Bob

Eggplant Parmigiana, Mario Batali

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for oiling the baking sheet
2 large eggplant, about 2 pounds
Salt and pepper
2 cups basic tomato sauce, recipe follows
1 bunch fresh basil leaves, chiffonade
1 pound fresh mozzarella, sliced 1/8-inch thick
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1/4 cup fresh bread crumbs, lightly toasted under broiler

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Using some extra-virgin olive oil, oil a baking sheet.

Slice each eggplant into 6 pieces about 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick. Lightly season each disk with salt and pepper and place on the oiled sheet. Bake the eggplant at 450 degrees F until the slices begin turning deep brown on top, about 12-15 minutes. Remove the eggplants from the oven. Remove the slices from the baking sheet and place them on a plate to cool.

Lower oven temperature to 350 degrees F. In an 8 by 12-inch brownie pan, place the 4 largest eggplant slice evenly spaced apart. Over each slice, spread 1/4 cup of tomato sauce and sprinkle with a teaspoon of basil. Place one slice of mozzarella over each and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon grated Parmigiano. Place the smaller slices of eggplant over each of the disks and repeat with tomato sauce, basil, and the 2 cheeses. Repeat the layering again until all the ingredients are used.

Sprinkle the toasted bread crumbs over the top of the eggplant dish, and bake uncovered until the cheese is melts and the tops turn light brown, about 20 minutes. Serve immediately.

Basic tomato sauce:

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 Spanish onion, 1/4-inch dice
4 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
3 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves, or 1 tablespoon dried
1/2 medium carrot, finely grated
2 (28-ounce) cans peeled whole tomatoes, crushed by hand and juices reserved
Salt

In a 3-quart saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until soft and light golden brown, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the thyme and carrot and cook 5 minutes more, until the carrot is quite soft. Add the tomatoes and juice and bring to a boil, stirring often. Lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes until as thick as hot cereal. Season with salt and serve. This sauce holds 1 week in the refrigerator or up to 6 months in the freezer.

Yield: 4 cups

Cooks Notes:

1. No salt.
2. Janet doesn't care for thyme -- omit.
3. A half cup of celery, chopped fine, improves the sauce to our taste.
4. Basil is a nice addition, but not strictly necessary. I think the cooking so long takes away the flavor. We like adding it to the top of the dish five minutes of cooking much like with a pizza.
5. Pecorino Romano cheese has less salt, and we sprinkle either parm or romano on top to taste.
6. Janet likes a TBS of sugar in the sauce -- it makes up for the lack of salt and gives a sweet and sour character to the dish, especially with the eggplant dishes.
7.La Bella San Marzano plum tomatoes tend to have less salt, 1% of MDR, or so.

Eggplants quartered lengthwise and cut in 1.5" pieces, beer battered, and deep fried are highly addictive. You'll never eat another French fry.

I'm running through my favorite eggplant recipes in my head, but they all have/need salty stuff. But... how about a roasted eggplant baba ghanoush?

Thanks Stuart -- there are many variations of roasted eggplant baba ghanoush, and actually Janet likes roasted eggplant just as it is. I'll play around with that idea -- thanks so much.

Thanks, Carl. I like that idea, although I'll try baking rather than deep frying -- but it should work very well -- my baked French Fries come out well, and if I can do better with eggplant it would be great!

Regards, Bob

Bob,

I love eggplant caponata - great as an appetizer but also on pasta or as a vegetable with roasted meat.

We may have posted this one here before, but it is a great veggie dish, and very handy to bring to pot lucks. It contains one teaspoon of fat, and salt is limited to 1.5 tablesoons of soy sauce.

SWEET & SOUR EGGPLANT SOBA:

1 ½ T Sesame seeds
1 lb Eggplant
1 Red Pepper
1 Small onion chopped
1 tsp Chinese (roasted) sesame oil
1 tsp Minced garlic
Pinch dried red pepper flakes
1 C Tomato sauce
¼ tsp Ground ginger
½ tsp Granulated garlic
1 ½ T Soy Sauce
1 ½ T Apple cider vinegar
1 ½ T Honey
½ T Arrowroot
¼ C Chopped cilantro (all or most of bunch)
½ lb Wild yam soba

Roast eggplant and pepper*. Toast sesame seeds in heavy saucepan till they start popping, and set seeds aside in small dish. Nuke onion with oil, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Peel, seed, and chop eggplant and pepper. Combine tomato sauce, ginger, granulated garlic, and soy sauce in saucepan. Add eggplant, pepper, and onion mixture. Bring to boil and simmer 20 minutes. Place soba in boiling water, simmer eight minutes, drain, and rinse with hot water. Combine vinegar, honey, and arrowroot in a bowl. Add to sauce along with cilantro off heat. Stir till thick. Drain soba, and place on a warm platter. Nap with sauce, and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serve hot.

*To roast vegetables: Wash and dry them. Cut stem off eggplant, cut in half lengthwise, and put in ungreased roaster face down along with whole pepper. Roast uncovered at 375 degrees for 34 minutes, turning pepper over once halfway. Remove from oven, cover, and cool. Can be done in morning, and let sit all day till you are ready to prepare dinner.

Carl,
This looks great.
I am not familiar with wild yam soba. Does ordinary soba work? Any modifications needed ? Thanks

Does ordinary soba work? Any modifications needed ? Thanks

Any ole soba will work fine. We just have a preference for the wild yam and buckwheat one. It is available at Whole Foods. Other wickerings include using jarred roasted red peppers in oo. The freshly roasted ones are harder to peel than the eggplant. Just fish out enough to equal one whole one. If there is no tomato sauce around we dissolve a cube of Knorr veggie bouillon in a half cup of water and add a half cup of ketchup. Wicker away!

Eggplant is one of Janet's favorite dishes, and we have a truck farmer nearby who grows some beauties. I'm looking for good ways to enhance my eggplant menus.

The following Batali recipe is a favorite here, in large part because it avoids the salting and pressing step -- the salting because Janet can't have salt and the pressing because of the additional time. Besides, the baked version is great to eat right off the baking tray.

Bob, does it really taste as good without being purged (sliced, salted, let weep, and squished)? I've had so many fried and baked eggplant dishes where the eggplant wasn't purged first and it just wasn't the same. (I'm also of the school which says that one should bread and fry eggplant prior to making eggplant parmesan, ditto for chicken parm cutlets.)

SWEET & SOUR EGGPLANT SOBA:

Thanks, Carl -- that looks like a real winner from here. Regards, Bob

"Bob, does it really taste as good without being purged (sliced, salted, let weep, and squished)?"

It does with a couple of qualifications. First, the eggplant must be quite fresh and small, with no brown seeds. Second, roast on a low heat -- 250F is best -- so the water is driven out. If time is short, I roast, then press without salting. Third, peel to minimize any bitterness.

I'm also very careful about adding liquid -- test the eggplant itself before adding any liquid, less tomato sauce, for example, if the eggplant is too juicy.

I agree, though, that soggy eggplant is a real downer. If it isn't dry when I take it out of the oven, I've got a real problem and I'll make something else.