[world_famous_recipes] Eggplant (or Chicken) Parmesan
Eggplant (or Chicken) Parmesan
¼ cup olive oil
3 cups homemade tomato sauce
2 large, fresh eggplants, peeled and sliced diagonally, in 1/3 inch
slices.
2 eggs, lightly beaten.
2 cups seasoned Italian breadcrumbs
2 red bell peppers, roasted with the shins removed. (Roast on grill
or directly on stove burner, cool, then remove skins. Or, just buy
them already roasted.)
¾ cup parmesan or parmigiano-reggiano, shredded or grated.
¾ lb. pecorino Romano (ewe's milk) cheese, either thinly sliced or
grated.
1 cup homemade pesto sauce. (link)
3 T oregano
1 T whole black pepper
1 T lightly toasted fennel seeds
Preparation:
Pre-preparation of the eggplant:
Season eggplant slices with salt on both sides. Then stack eggplant
slices in a colander in the sink, place a small plate over them, and
place weight (we use a large, full food can or 1.5 liter bottle of
wine) over them. Let stand for about ½ hour. (This will leach out
some of the potential bitterness.)
Remove and wipe off with paper towel to remove excess salt and
released juices.
While the eggplant is being prepped, prepare the homemade tomato
sauce. Tomato Sauce additional "touches":
Prepare according to recipe, including the brandy and lemon juice
addition.
Grind the dried oregano, whole peppers and toasted fennel seeds
together.
Add to the tomato sauce when you add the tomatoes.
Sauté the Eggplant:
Heat 1/3 of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium.
Depending on the size of your skillet, you will prepare the eggplant
slices in about 3 batches.
Dip each slice, first in the egg, then in the breadcrumbs to coat.
Sauté in olive oil until browned on both sides.
Finishing preparation of the eggplant parmesan:
Heat the oven to 375 degrees.
In a 9x 13 inch baking dish either sprayed with oil or buttered,
place enough eggplant to cover bottom in a single layer.
Next, slice the roasted red bell peppers into thirds and layer over
1st layer of eggplants.
Spread the pesto sauce over the bell pepper layer.
Spread the pecorino Romano over the pesto to form a layer.
Spread the remaining eggplant to form another layer.
Slather the tomato sauce over this final eggplant layer.
If you have any leftover breadcrumbs, layer them into the dish here.
(We usually just add some anyway. A very thin layer.)
Top with the parmesan or parmigiano-reggiano.
Bake for 30-40 minutes, until topping cheese is nicely toasted and
dish is bubbling.
Let it rest for 10-12 minutes before serving.
The dish needs to rest so it is easier to slice.
And, yes, it is as good as it sounds.
Homemade Italian Tomato Sauce
Ingredients:
2 T extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
3-5 cloves garlic, crushed with flat of knife and sliced thinly
1/2 to 1 cup diced, fresh basil. (It's your call. We usually use
close to a cup)
1/2 cup red wine. (Good enough quality to drink)
1 T turbinado (raw) sugar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 28 oz. can crushed or diced tomatoes.
1 t lemon juice (optional)
3 T brandy (optional)
If you have good fresh tomatoes, blanch them in boiling water until
the skins are loose and wrinkled. Cool in cold water and remove skins
before dicing. If you squeeze through strainer with mesh small enough
to catch the seeds, the removal of the seeds will make the sauce a
little less bitter. We usually don't remove the seeds. We can't tell
that it makes enough difference to go to the trouble)
Preparation:
Sauté onions in olive oil over low heat, covered, for 10 it, we've actually heard there are some people who do
not like garlic! Hard to believe, but I guess it's true. Pity for
them!) Obviously, these people are "not" Italian, even at heart!
So, make a large batch of sauce and use what you need for the recipe
you are preparing, then freeze the rest in batches for future
recipes. You can thaw it out in the microwave or in warm water in no
time.
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