Bear's Eggplant Parmesan
June 30, 2008 | permalink
The first time I had eggplant I had no idea I was eating a vegetable; I was sure it was some kind of exotic, delicious meat. I remember asking someone what animal it was I was eating, and being stunned and confused when I learned that it was, in fact, a vegetable. The taste and texture of it were completely outside of my experience as to what vegetables were like, and I have been fascinated by the eggplant ever since.
One of my favorite ways to eat eggplant (as you may have guessed by now) is Eggplant Parmesan; here is how I like to prepare it:
Eggplant Parmesan
- 1 Large, Ripe Eggplant
- 2 Large Eggs
- Seasoned Breadcrumbs
- Mozzarella Cheese
- Parmesan Cheese
- Tomato Sauce
- Fresh Basil
- Olive Oil, Salt, and Pepper
Peel the eggplant and cut it into 1/4" thick slices. In a bowl, beat the two eggs, two tablespoons of water, and salt & pepper to taste. Dip the eggplant in the egg mixture and coat with breadcrumbs. Set aside.
In a skillet, heat enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan until it shimmers. Once it's hot, add the breaded eggplant, frying for 2-3 minutes on each side. We are not trying to cook the eggplant through and through at this stage- our goal is merely to brown the breading and outer edges of the eggplant. Once browned, transfer the eggplant slices to a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil, making a single layer.
Once all your eggplant slices are browned, set them aside to rest for a few minutes and set the oven to 350 degrees. Also at this stage, you should heat the tomato sauce in a covered saucepan on an extremely low flame- we just want to warm it up.
Thinly slice enough mozzarella (we don't want to overpower the flavor of the eggplant, so don't be too heavy handed here- and I say that as a cheese lover!) to cover each slice of eggplant. Bake the now cheese-draped eggplant slices for 20 minutes, or until the cheese starts to brown. This, by the way, is why we weren't concerned with cooking them all the way through in the frying stage; if we had, we would end up with eggplant mush by the time they come out of the oven. 
To serve, fan the eggplant slices out on a plate, spoon some of the sauce over top, give them a dash of Parmesan cheese, and throw on a couple of leaves of fresh basil. Again, don't be too heavy handed with any of these things; we don't want to lose the taste of the eggplant underneath all its toppings. I would serve it with garlic bread, and maybe a tomato-cucumber salad, but that's just me...
A large eggplant ought to yield 16-20 1/4" slices, which translates into about 4 servings of Eggplant Parmesan.
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Okay, so this is one of those recipe things that always bugs me. How are you supposed to know how much salt and pepper to add? Are you actually tasting the raw egg? And how does the taste of the raw egg compare to the finished product?
BTW, this sounds delicious.
Um... I don't know... how much salt and pepper do you like?
In truth, I stopped measuring things like that for myself a long time ago; I just sort of wing it. But if I had to quantify what I'd added, I would say that it was 1/2 teaspoon of each that I added to the egg.
Also, you won't really taste the egg. With the water added, it's pretty thin, and only functions to hold the breadcrumbs in place.
(And not to be immodest, but it is pretty damn tasty.)
not to be the crass teenage boy in the room, but:
fucking yum.
for serious.
I chronically undersalt things I'm cooking, because I'm afraid to use too much salt. :) Occasionally, I forget to add any salt at all. Unsalted chicken soup is not exciting.
Pepper is less of a problem, I suspect because I care less.