Eggplant parmesean recipe????HELP

[Dan's*Girl]

Ok I've NEVER cooked a eggplant, and my DH wants eggplant parm and I am not sure how. Can someone tell me how to clean, cut and cook that bad boy so its not mush??

THANKS SO MUCH!!


Your fav recipes are also welcome!

[KarenS]

The trick to cooking eggplant is to drain it first. Take a medium sized, fairly firm eggplant and cut it in about 1/4" to 1/8" thick rounds. Lightly salt each round and lay them out on papertowels for about an hour or so .. .the salt will pull the moisture from the flesh. Then rinse the salt and pat them dry.

The way I make Eggplant Parm is in the oven to cut down on the fat. This is very much off the top of my head, so measurements will be approximate.

Take the eggplant rounds and dredge them in flour, then in beaten egg, then in Italian seasoned breadcrumbs. Arrange them on a cookie sheet that's been sprayed with olive oil Pam (or lightly wiped down with olive oil). Spritz the top of the rounds with more Pam or oil and bake in a 375 oven until browned and beginning to crisp up (I honestly have never timed this so I don't even know how to begin to tell you .. maybe start with 20 mins and check on them from there?).

Take the baked, breaded eggplant from the oven and let it cool slightly. Layer it in a shallow casserole with marinara or spaghetti sauce (I usually make and freeze my own in big batches, but you can use any good sauce from a bottle, too), and a blend of mozzarella & parmesan cheese. Make sure that the top layer is parm cheese. . I usually get 2 layers out of one eggplant, using my 15oz oval casserole dish.

Bake at 350 until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

Voila. Eggplant Parm. I do the same thing with chicken breasts that have been pounded flat to make Chicken Parm.

Karen

[lil_geek]

Yummm, love eggplant parm!

It is super easy to make, there are a ton of variations depending on your tastes/time you want to spend making it.


1) Cleaning... just wash it in water like you would any fruit/veggie that you will be eating the skin of.

2) Cutting.... either cut in half lengthwise and then cut half moon shapes from each half, or just cut it in rounds.. no need to peel or take out seeds or anything...

3) Eggplant prep... there are many different things you can do.
a) dip in egg and breadcrumbs, you can fry or bake
b) soak in milk to take some bitterness out (if you use smaller eggplants it's not a huge issue)
c) nothing... easiest!

Eggplant Parm.... layer the eggplant with tomatoe sauce and mozerella/parmesean cheese. I like to use provellone too... top with the cheese and bake for about 30 minutes at 350. I do mine in a lasagna type pan, but some of the recipies seem to do individual 'cutlets' like veal parm.

Here are a few variations I found.....

BAKED EGGPLANT PARMESAN (http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,1850,151187-234200,00.html)

1 lg. egg plant
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 lb. Mozzarella cheese, sliced
1/8 c. lemon juice
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 c. bread crumbs
1 lg. jar of spaghetti sauce
1 garlic clove
1/4 c. oil

Pare eggplant and slice cross-wise in 1/4-inch slices. Beat egg and lemon together. Dip slices in egg mixture. Then roll in bread crumbs. Saute garlic in oil 5 minutes. Then add eggplant slices and saute until golden brown. Alternate layers of eggplants, Parmesan, Mozzarella and sauce. Top with Mozzarella. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Serves 4-6.


Eggplant Parm - The Zone Diet Recipes (http://www.the-zone-diet-recipes.com/recipes/eggplant_parm.html)

1 1/2 cups eggplant (1 block carbohydrate)
2 egg whites (1 block protein)
2 oz part skim mozzerella (2 blocks protein)
1 clove minced garlic
Dash of parmesan chesse
Sprinkling of seasoned bread crumbs
1/2 cup marinara sauce (1 block carbohydrate)
1 teaspoon olive oil (3 blocks fat)
Heat olive oil in a pan comibine other ingredients (except mozzerella cheese) into an tuperware dish cover and shake until eggplant is completely coated. Cook in heated olive oil for 5 minutes place mixture in a no-stick cake pan. Place mozzerella on top and bake at 350 for 10 mintutes.

[ladybug777]

Here's the recipe that I use. It's super easy and doesn't take long.

Baked Eggplant Parmesan
*2 large eggs
*3/4 cup plain dry breadcrumbs
*3/4 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
*1 tsp organo
*1/2 tsp dried basil
*2 large eggplants, peeled and sliced into 1/2 in rounds (I use a veggie peeler to peel)
*6 cups (48oz) chunky tomato sauce
*1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella
*coarse salt and ground pepper to taste

-Brush two baking sheets w/ olive oil (I use the non stick spray)
-Whisk together eggs and 2 tbs water
-In a bowl, combine breadcrumbs, 3/4 cup paremsan, oregano & basil. Season w/ salt and pepper.
-Dip eggplant slices in egg mixture and then coat w/ breadcrumb mixture
-Place on baking sheets and bake at 375 for 20-25 min or until golden brown. Turn slices and bake until other side is browned.
-Remove from oven and increase oven temp to 400.
-Spread 3 cups sauce in 9x13 inch bakind dish. Arrange half of eggplant in dish. Cover w/ 2 cups sause, then 1/2 cup mozzarella. Repeat w/ remaining eggplant, sause and mozzarella.
-Sprinkle w/ 2 tbsp parmesan. Bake until sauce is bubbling and cheese is melted (apprx 15-20 min.)

Hope that helps.

[bethnjim]

If you have a Trader Joe's nearby, they have a box of eggplant in the freezer department. It is already breaded and we either bake or fry it up and put sauce and mozzerella on it. It is so so good and really quick!!

[Sarah]

I agree with the first poster, that salting it is the way to go, if you are having mush problems. Salting it takes away the extra water (salt pulls water from foods) and will make your finished product much better.

[chefker]

IA with Karen's method--I find that baking it reduces the mushiness, and tastes just as good (besides being much healthier than frying!)

I've been making it this way for years, and now I find I prefer the baked version over the fried.

(Eggplant parm goes GREAT with a chunky tomato-basil sauce too!)

[meganth]

This is my favorite eggplant parm because it doesn't use egg and it's baked, which is much tastier and healthier.

Moosewood Eggplant Parmesan
Moosewood Restaurant

2 medium eggplants
3/4 cup milk
2 cups fine bread crumbs or wheat germ (or a combination)
1 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon thyme
italian tomato sauce
1 pound mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Either lightly lube (oil, pam, whatever) a baking tray and a 9x13 inch pan or use non-stick versions of the same.

Cut the eggplants into circles 1/2 -inch thick. Place the milk in a shallow bowl; combine bread crumbs and/or wheat germ with herbs on a plate. Dip each eggplant slice in the milk, moistening both sides, then cover both sides thoroughly with the crumb mix. Spread the prepared slices on the baking tray and pan, and bake for approx. 20-30 minutes (or until tender). Remove from oven, and pile them gently on the baking sheet.

Then, without cleaning the pan, ladle some tomato sauce into the pan and spread out over the bottom. Add a layer of eggplant slices and cover them with more sauce. Spread some mozzarella over the sauce, and repeat the layering process until you run out of either room or ingredients. Sprinkle the top with lots of parmesan. Bake uncovered for about 40 minutes, or until heated through and bubbling around the edges. Remove from oven and let sit for about 10 minutes before serving.

__________________________________________________ _______

Another favorite variation on eggplant parmesan

Eggplant Rollatini
Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis

3 medium-sized eggplants (about 4 pounds total)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Can vegetable spray
32 ounces ricotta cheese
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
8 tablespoons grated Parmesan
3 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
20 basil leaves, chiffonaded
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
2 cups fresh tomato sauce, recipe follows

Preheat the grill pan and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Place a rack over a large baking sheet. Cut the 2 ends off the eggplant. Cut the eggplants lengthwise, into 1/2-inch thick slices. Arrange eggplant slices onto rack. Sprinkle with sea salt to help remove excess moisture and any bitterness from the eggplants. Set aside for about 10 to 15 minutes. Rinse off the salt from the eggplants and pat dry with a towel. Spray hot grill pan liberally with vegetable spray and then place eggplant slices on the grill until lightly browned on each side and tender, about 4 minutes per side. Remove slices from the grill pan and allow to cool.

In a large bowl, beat eggs until lightly scrambled. Mix the ricotta in with the egg. Add mozzarella, 3 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese and toasted pine nuts and gently combine. Fold in basil just to combine. Do not overmix.

Place a tablespoon of the cheese mixture on 1 end of the eggplant and roll up tightly. Place the eggplant rollatini into a greased (with olive oil) 13 by 9-inch baking dish, seam side down. Continue with remaining eggplant. Evenly distribute the tomato sauce on top of the eggplant rollatini. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with remaining 5 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese and bake for 15 minutes. When cooked, drizzle the top with extra-virgin olive oil.