Well, I have been without a job for a week now; so much for my never being out of work for more than a week comment. In keeping with my new mission of planning meals on a now a very tight budget, I thought of a question that one of the girls at the office asked when one of the salesmen brought in eggplants. “What’d ya do with an eggplant?”
My grandparents grew eggplants in the backyard garden. Gramma Rinaldi used eggplants in many different recipes. She used them in vegetable stews, minestrone soup, and just plain fried. Gramma taught me that the perfect eggplant is not the biggest one; it’s the medium size because the bigger ones are too seedy. At first, I wouldn’t eat eggplants because I didn’t like the seedy part. But after I took my private cooking classes in Gramma’s kitchen, I learned to appreciate the eggplant. Now, the first thing that comes to my mind when I see a nice sized purple eggplant is eggplant parmigiana. I always make sure to buy an extra one because it is just to tempting not to munch on them while they’re frying. I can make a meal out of just eating them during the frying stage of preparation, which would save a few bucks too.
Eggplant Parmigiana
Ingredients:
2 medium eggplants
4 eggs, beaten
2 cups bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
salt/pepper to taste
¼ tsp. Garlic Powder
Marinara sauce (preferably your own homemade sauce – or 1 jar of store bought sauce)
16 oz. mozzarella, sliced thin or thickly grated
olive oil for frying
Directions:
Slice eggplant into slices about 1/4" thick. Mix bread crumbs with grated cheese, salt/pepper and garlic powder. Dip eggplant in egg and then roll in bread crumb mixture. Fry until light brown. Drain on paper towel. In baking pan, put a layer of eggplant, sauce and mozzarella cheese, make layers until pan is full. Top with mozzarella, more grated parmesan cheese and sauce. Bake in 350 degree oven for 35 minutes until cheese melts.
My grandparents grew eggplants in the backyard garden. Gramma Rinaldi used eggplants in many different recipes. She used them in vegetable stews, minestrone soup, and just plain fried. Gramma taught me that the perfect eggplant is not the biggest one; it’s the medium size because the bigger ones are too seedy. At first, I wouldn’t eat eggplants because I didn’t like the seedy part. But after I took my private cooking classes in Gramma’s kitchen, I learned to appreciate the eggplant. Now, the first thing that comes to my mind when I see a nice sized purple eggplant is eggplant parmigiana. I always make sure to buy an extra one because it is just to tempting not to munch on them while they’re frying. I can make a meal out of just eating them during the frying stage of preparation, which would save a few bucks too.
Eggplant Parmigiana
Ingredients:
2 medium eggplants
4 eggs, beaten
2 cups bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
salt/pepper to taste
¼ tsp. Garlic Powder
Marinara sauce (preferably your own homemade sauce – or 1 jar of store bought sauce)
16 oz. mozzarella, sliced thin or thickly grated
olive oil for frying
Directions:
Slice eggplant into slices about 1/4" thick. Mix bread crumbs with grated cheese, salt/pepper and garlic powder. Dip eggplant in egg and then roll in bread crumb mixture. Fry until light brown. Drain on paper towel. In baking pan, put a layer of eggplant, sauce and mozzarella cheese, make layers until pan is full. Top with mozzarella, more grated parmesan cheese and sauce. Bake in 350 degree oven for 35 minutes until cheese melts.
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