Monday, December 21, 2009

Baked Eggplant Parmesan

There's really nothing like spicing up a regular old Saturday lunch with this easy Baked Eggplant Parmesan from Martha Stewart! A few notes about the recipe. I halved this recipe to serve 4 people and found that my eggplant cooked in 25 minutes to a beautiful golden brown on both sides without flipping it over or cooking it for the additional 20-25 min recommended. Interestingly enough, I still used the same amount of tomato sauce!

I made my own tomato sauce, and why not? It's so easy! Plucked 6 or 7 leaves of basil and combined it with 6 quartered roma tomatoes and chopped garlic to create a fresh, chunky tomato sauce in the food processor. Be sure to season with salt and pepper! It's funny how simple and yet essential are salt and pepper.

A final note... I didn't have breadcrumbs, but toss a few cups of cornflakes in the food processor and you're ready to go. I guess I have ONE more thing to say. There was a certain lack of dried herbs in my parents' pantry, but luckily I had a bottle I brought back from Paris of Herbes de Provence, and that works just fine as a substitute in this recipe!


"round" eggplant slices
(I thought I was making something else and had started cutting the other way first)

water+egg bath use before these babies dive into a bowl of seasoned breadcrumbs

arrange the slices on a tray lined with greased parchment

13x9 casserole dish filled with this beautiful, red sauce
(fresh tomato puree, fresh basil, garlic, sea salt, pepper)


end result, plated on a bed of pasta

You'll notice I didn't use angel hair, but honestly I prefer it with eggplant parmesan. But there are just times when you just have to tell yourself "I WILL ONLY USE WHAT IS ALREADY IN MY KITCHEN!" And so it goes!