Melanzane alla Parmigiana (Eggplant Parmesan)

Time for a confession: sometimes, I hate eggplant. After one too many servings of very bad, completely awful versions of melanzane alla Parmigiana, you know the kind with layers of fried greasy eggplant, too little sauce, rubbery mozzarella (I am cringing as I write this), I concluded that eggplant was a lesser vegetable. How wrong I was!

Eggplant is a very sensitive vegetable. Given its spongy nature, it will soak up whatever you give it, and if you are giving it less than impressive ingredients to soak up, it is not the eggplant's fault if it is less than glorious. But, if you combine it with lovely ingredients... you are in for one delicious dish.

Like this melanzane alla parmigiana. Between layers of rustic tomato sauce, real honest to goodness Parmesan cheese, and roasted golden eggplant, what is there not to like?

And it was so startling easy to make. I think I have a new, easy go to dinner that is still a little bit impressive.

Start by getting three firm globe eggplants. And you don't have to worry about salting them, because you are going to be roasting them and evaporating the bitter water anyways.
Cut them into 1/2 inch slices.
Spread them on a baking sheet and toss them with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast for about 40 minutes at 450, turning once.
(How good do these look?!)

Once they are done, get out a smallish baking dish, and get ready to layer. Start with a layer of tomato sauce.
Now, a good sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.
Then, a layer of roasted eggplant. Don't be afraid to 'coax' them into fitting.
And, repeat! You should be able to get in 2-3 more layers of eggplant. For the top, toss some bread crumbs with a little mozzarella, and sprinkle that over the top. If you add a few dots of butter to that, you will have a gorgeous golden top.
Bake for 30 minutes at 375, until everything is oozy, bubbly, and smelling like heaven.
Let it rest for a few minutes. When serving, add a good handful of basil, and, get ready to enjoy a perfect way to enjoy eggplant.

Melanzane alla Parmigiana
Ingredients:
3 globe eggplants
olive oil
salt, fresh ground black pepper
One jar of good tomato sauce
3/4 cup or so of good Parmesan
1/4 (or more) cup mozzarella
3/4 cup dried bread crumbs
1 Tablespoon of butter

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450. Slice eggplants into 1/2 inch slices. Divide the eggplants between two baking sheets. Drizzle with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Toss to coat. Roast for 20 minutes, flip, and roast for 20 more minutes. Reduce oven to 375.

Get out a small baking dish (like an 8 1/2 inch gratin). Add a thin layer of tomato sauce, a good sprinkle of Parmesan, and one layer of eggplant. Repeat, creating 2-3 more layers of eggplant. You should end with a little sauce and a good handful of Parmesan. For the very top layer, toss the bread crumbs with the mozzarella, and sprinkle over the top. Dot with butter.

Bake for 30 or so minutes, until golden and bubbling. Let rest for 10 minutes. Serve with a good sprinkle of basil.

Lasagna and Lessons Learned

Maybe the fact that the Vegetarian Lasagna recipe in Joy of Cooking calls for 6 pounds of eggplant and zucchini would phase some cooks. Not me. I didn't even bat an eye when I wrote 'eggplant (3 pounds) and zucchini (3 pounds)' on my grocery list. "Why?", you ask. Because I am devoted recipe-follower.

There are several reasons for this. First, I am my mother's daughter.

The second reason, and one I have only realized recently, has to do with this stage in my culinary life. Right now, I am learning how to cook. I am learning about techniques (Oh my, I love to chiffonade). I am learning about ingredients (What, you can make your own creme fraiche?). And I am learning about flavor combinations (Wait, peaches and tomatoes?). At the end of the day, I don't think I can become a better cook without understanding these basics of cooking. Before getting crazy and grating nutmeg all over everything, I should know why you use nutmeg, what recipes traditionally call for it, and what other ingredients it compliments. And one terrific way to learn is by following recipes from other cooks who have the experience and knowledge that I don't yet have.

Third, I like keeping track of what works and doesn't work, so one day I can have 'classic recipes'. You know, those tried and true recipes that you just own. If you follow a recipe once and you don't like it, you can keep track of what you didn't like and adjust it the next go round. I find when I just wing it, whether it works out well or horribly, it is incredibly difficult to repeat.

So, back to the lasagna that calls for 6 pounds of veggies... Well 6 1/2 pounds if you count the extra mushrooms I threw in. Apparently, 6 1/2 pounds of veggies may be a tad too much. In fact, there were so many veggies in this lasagna, I couldn't even fit in the last layer of pasta. But, this is good to know, next time I make veggie lasagna maybe I will shoot for 3-4 pounds of veggies. Consider my Joy of Cooking so annotated. See, isn't following recipes fun?!

Here's the making of it. I mostly followed the Joy of Cooking recipe, although I did take advice from a friend on the layering part. (She suggests that having veggies on the bottom provides more stability to the whole lasagna.)

First for the veggies. Did I mention there were 6 1/2 pounds of them?
I chopped them up.


Then it was time to roast them. I started to pile them onto my baking sheets. Only to quickly realize that if I wanted them to be in a single layer (which is a must for roasting), two sheets was definitely not enough.
Look at all that was left over.
So, in order to follow the recipe, I had to do two rounds of roasting,
and sauteed the mushrooms.
This ended up tacking on quite a bit of time. So lesson learned: when living somewhere without two ovens, only include the amount of veggies that will fit on two baking sheets. My guess is around 3-4 pounds.

While the veggies threatened to take everything over, I made the ricotta mixture. Have you met my cheese grater? This is the OXO Good Grips cheese grater. This is the best cheese grater ever. Because, you see that little box on the bottom? You perch your grater on top of that box, and it measures and catches your cheese as you grate it. Once you are done, remove the box, and you can either use the grated cheese, or pop the lid on the box and put it in the frig. Seriously, I love this tool.
For the ricotta mixture: ricotta, eggs, parmesan, salt, pepper, and nutmeg(!). See, if you read up on nutmeg, you learn that it loves things like ricotta mixtures.

Once I boiled my pasta, I got my assembly line ready.
Veggies, sauce, mozzarella, noodles, ricotta, repeat.

So, veggies.
Sauce. I always have the problem of under-saucing, and even this time, I used almost twice as much as Joy of Cooking called for and it still wasn't quite enough.
Mozza... oh wait, I misread the directions and did ricotta. Not dire, by any means, but it did get a little pink.
Noodles,
The mozzarella that was supposed to be ricotta.
And I repeated it until I got to what was supposed to be the final pasta layer. Much to my recipe-following chagrin, there was absolutely no room left for those last three noodles.
6 1/2 pounds of veggies will apparently do that to you. Then again, I did use a layering technique not in the Joy of Cooking, so perhaps I oughtn't blame the recipe.
So, I finished it off with some cheese, prayed that I wouldn't drop it, and popped/lugged it in the oven. 30 minutes covered with foil, 20 minutes without the foil. And, voila:
Come on, now. Look at that goodness.
Some lasagna, some salad (arugula with pear and gorgonzola), and an Italian red-blend: who wouldn't want this for dinner?
Garnished with some fresh basil, my 6-1/2-pounds-of-vegetables-lasagna was fantastic.
The many lessons learned:
-6 1/2 pounds of veggies is too much for a 13x9x2 pan. Include only as many vegetables as can be roasted on 2 baking sheets (about 3-4 pounds)
-if you do use 6 1/2 pounds of vegetables and you want all the layers of pasta in, try with the pasta on the bottom
-even if you can't include that last layer of pasta, this lasagna is delicious
-assembly lines for lasagna are brilliant
-you don't have to feel bound to eggplant and zucchini, you could use almost any vegetable that you wanted as long as it roasts well: peppers, summer squash, onions...
-if you want a sauce-y lasagna, don't follow normal directions; they call for very little sauce. For this lasagna, two 24-oz jars of marinara would have been ideal. Maybe a little less if you are doing fewer veggies
-when you cover your lasagna with tin foil, it helps to spray one side with Pam. This way, the melted cheese won't stick to the foil.

Roasted Vegetable Lasagna (adapted from Joy of Cooking)
Ingredients:
Eggplants (about 3 pounds), cut into 1/2 inch slices (I used Chinese eggplants, but if you use a globe eggplant, quarter it length-wise) (I would go with 1 1/2 pounds)
6 medium zucchini (about 3 pounds), cut in 1/2 inch slices (again, I would go with 1 1/2 pounds)
8 oz cremini mushrooms, sliced
4 cups shredded mozzarella
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 24 oz jars of marinara
15 oz ricotta
2 eggs
1/2 cup olive oil
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp freshly grated black pepper
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg (or to taste)
1 pounds dry lasagna

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 450. Grease a 13x9 pan. Toss the vegetables with 1/2 cup olive oil, 1 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp black pepper. Divide the vegetables between several baking sheets, spreading them in a single layer. Roast for 15 minutes. Toss the vegetables and continue to roast until well browned and soft, 15-2o minutes more. Transfer the vegetables to a large bowl.

Reduce the oven temperature to 375. Cook pasta in a large pot of salted, boiling water, stirring occasionally for 6-7 minutes, until barely tender. Drain the past and run cold water over it. Separate and blot it dry.

In a medium bowl, stir together the ricotta, eggs, 1/2 cup grated Parmesan, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper, and nutmeg.

Get all your lasagna components in a row. Spread a thin layer of sauce over the bottom of the prepared pan. Cover with a layer of pasta, slightly overlapping. Spread with one-third of the ricotta mixture. Sprinkle one-quarter of the mozzarella and grated Parmesan over the ricotta. Spoon one-third of the roasted vegetables on top and then add 1/2 cup of sauce (I added almost 1 cup). Add another layer of pasta and continue layering the lasagna until you have 4 layers of pasta and 3 layers of filling. Spread the remaining sauce on top and sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan. [see below for alternative layering technique]. Dot with butter (optional).

Spray aluminum foil with Pam , cover the pan with the foil (Pam side down), and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and continue to bake until golden and bubbly, 15-20 minutes. Let stand 15 minutes before serving. Garnish with basil or parsley.

Alternative layering technique: 1/3 of the veggies, about 1 cup of sauce, 1/4 of the mozzarella and Parmesan, pasta, 1/3 of the ricotta, 1/3 of the veggies, about 1 cup of sauce, 1/4 mozzarella and Parmesan, pasta, 1/3 of the ricotta, 1/3 of the veggies, about 1 cup of sauce, 1/4 of the mozzarella and Parmesan, pasta, sauce, 1/4 of the mozzarella and Parmesan. (Note: I did not get this last layer of pasta in).

Box-of-garden-vegetables, Round Two: Ratatouille

There is nothing quite like hearing a knock on your door, opening the door, and finding a box full of vegetables on your doorstep. You want to know why? Because this garden...

...gets packed in a box in the garden and sent to me.
(for more pictures of the garden, look at the end of this post)

This is the second box of vegetables my father has sent me. It doesn't get much better than this. He packs the box in the garden, drops it off at the post-office, and a few days later I have fresh corn, peppers, squash, zucchini, eggplant, okra, onions, shallot, cucumber, and radishes.

With the box in hand, my mind started racing through recipes and my fingers started thumbing through the 'vegetable' section of my Joy of Cooking. I settled on a recipe for Ratataouille Provencal.

This hearty, stew-like dish is packed with flavor. First, you have all the wonderful veggies: eggplant, squash/zucchini, peppers, onions, garlic, and tomatoes. Then you have some wonderful herbs: thyme, bay leaf, and basil. This dish could easily have turned into a disaster of mush-y, indistinguishable vegetable-like pieces. Fortunately, this recipe made it possible for the vegetables to marry together, and yet retain their individual flavors and shapes. What a perfect way to showcase these lovely, fresh Matherne-garden vegetables.

The prep:
Get the veggies out. And revel in how beautiful the are.
I started with the eggplant and squash. And, yes, I used a scale to weigh 1 pound of each and a ruler to cut 1-inch chunks. Here's the Japanese eggplant, slender and more tender than regular globe eggplant.


And the squash. I threw in a little zucchini for good measure.
Next, these lovely peppers. This time, I went ruler-free.

Then the onions. If they are sent to you from the garden, be sure to clean them well.


Mince up the garlic.

Gather your basil.

And you are ready to start cooking. Get some oil heating in your Dutch oven.

You start with the eggplant and the squash. You use high heat at this point, because you want to get a golden crust on the eggplant and squash, without overcooking them. They start like this:
And, once they are golden like this:
... remove them to a plate.

Reduce the heat to medium-high, add a bit more oil, and toss in your onions.

Once they are softened, add the peppers and garlic.
Let those cook until just tender.

Then for the tomatoes. I decided to drain a can instead of peeling my own.

Now, you add in the tomatoes, thyme, and bay leaf.

Cover and let that marry for about 5 minutes. Then add the eggplant and squash back in.

Cover that and let that marry for another 20 minutes or so. The timing is important on this because you don't want the vegetables to turn to mush. You want everything to still have body and be distinct. Remove the lid and throw in a handful of chopped basil.


Spoon that into your serving bowl. Garnish with some basil and a little grated parmesan.

Serve that with a side of corn on the cobb, and you have one fantastic way to use vegetables that were delivered by the mailman.


Ratataouille Provencal (adapted from Joy of Cooking)
Ingredients:
1/4 c, plus 2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium eggplant (about 1 pound), peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
1 pound zucchini (or squash), cut into 1-inch chunks
1 1/2 cups sliced onions
2 large bell peppers, cut into 1-inch squares
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups peeled, seeded, chopped fresh tomatoes or one 14-oz can diced tomatoes, drained
2 to 3 sprigs of fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper
1/4 cup chopped basil

Directions:
Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven over high heat. Add eggplant and squash. Cook, stirring until golden and just tender, about 10-12 minutes. Remove the vegetables to a plate and reduce the heat to medium-high. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and onions. Cook until the onions are slightly softened. Add bell peppers and garlic cloves. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the peppers are just tender but not browned, about 8 to 12 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add tomatoes, thyme, and the bay leaf. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook for 5 minutes. Add the eggplant and zucchini and cook until everything is tender, about 20 minutes more. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Stir in basil.

Serve garnished with basil and parmesan cheese.

Use this Ratatouille as a side dish, over meat, on a hummus sandwich, or on a salad.

More pictures of the garden and its delights:
Peppers,
Japanese eggplants,

turnips,onions,
squash,

zucchinis, cucumbers,
and rows of corn...