Eggplant: Love It or Hate It

Eggplant Parmesan

Nobody is neutral about eggplant.  Some people actually tense up when they hear the word.  Others apparently start to salivate.

For most of my life I’ve been in the tense-up category.  When I was a beginning cook, I tried to keep an open mind.  When a recipe directed me to salt slices of eggplant and let them sit for an hour in a colander to take away the bitterness, I did as told.  When the recipe then said to fry the eggplant on both sides in 1/2 cup oil, I did that too.  The end result was unpleasant and oily.

It got to the point where reading a recipe that included eggplant as an ingredient was enough for me to order out.

One day I volunteered to make a birthday dinner for a friend, and she asked if I had a good recipe for her favorite dish, Eggplant Parmesan.  I lied and said yes, and then I followed my instincts.

Instead of salting the eggplant slices and using huge amounts of oil, I simply browned the unsalted slices in a tablespoon of oil.  I did not make my own tomato sauce. Instead I used a jar of marinara sauce.

She loved my special (easy) recipe, and I was happily surprised when I tasted it.  Now I make Eggplant Parmesan at least once a year for my friend, and I sit down and enjoy eating it with her.

Eggplant Parmesan – serves 4 (adapted from "Help!My Apartment Has a Dining Room!”) 

1 large eggplant
1 tablespoon olive or canola oil + more if needed.
1 16-ounce jar marinara or other pasta sauce
2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. 

Peel the eggplant and cut it lengthwise into 1/2-inch slices.  Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat.  Add as many slices as will fit in a single layer and cook for about 2 minutes, or until they begin to brown on the bottom.  Turn the slices over and press them down with a metal spatula to squeeze out some of the oil they absorbed. Cook for another 2 minutes.  Transfer the cooked slices to a plate and repeat until all the eggplant is cooked, adding a bit more oil if needed to keep the eggplant from sticking to the pan. 

Put 1/4 cup marinara sauce in a medium ovenproof casserole or baking dish and shake it to spread the sauce around.  Lay half the eggplant slices on top of the sauce.  Spread 1 cup marinara sauce on top of the eggplant.  Scatter half the mozzarella cheese over the sauce.  Sprinkle on 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese.  Add a second layer of eggplant and the rest of the marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese. 

Bake uncovered for 30-35 minutes, or until the sauce bubbles and the top begins to brown.  Serve immediately or let cool slightly and serve warm.

                     For more easy recipes, order "Help! My Apartment Has a Kitchen!"