Judy's Eggplant Parm

[s'kat]

Judy's Eggplant Parm

Serves 4 as Main Dish.

This is my mother-in-law's eggplant parm, and it is incredible. Simple ingredients yield a dish filled with complexity of flavors. While it is easy to prepare, it takes some time to fry all of that eggplant! It is definately worth the results. Serve with some bread or foccacia to soak up those wonderful juices. This dish can also be assembled aheah of time, and refrigerated until ready to pop in the oven. It also freezes well (unbaked).

• 3 pounds eggplant
  
• olive oil
  
• flour, spread out on bowl/plate
  
• 2 c canned imported Italian plum tomatoes, well-drained and coarsely chopped (or use fresh if in season)
  
• 1 T olive oil
  
• sea salt
  
• 3/4 pound fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
  
• 10 leaves basil, to taste
  
• butter, for smearing dish
  
• 1/2 c freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
  

Slice eggplant lengthwise 3/8-inch thick. Salt both sides, and stack upright in colander. Set colander in sink, or set in tray to catch drippings. Let sweat for 30 minutes.

Remove and pat eggplant dry.

Place olive oil in pan, about 1 1/2 inches worth. Heat until oil is quite hot, but not smoking. Dredge eggplant on both sides in flour. Place in pan, not overlapping, until golden brown. Flip and continue frying until other side is golden brown. Remove, drain, and place on paper towels. Repeat with remaining eggplant.

Meanwhile, as eggplant is being fried, place tomatoes, salt and olive oil in another pan. Turn to low, or low-medium, and let simmer as you fry the eggplant. Cook down until tomatoes are reduced by half.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Smear bottom and sides of (approximately 11X7 baking dish, ceramic preferred) baking dish with butter. Place a single layer, overlapping, of eggplant in bottom of dish. Dot with cooked tomato.

Cover with layer of mozzarella, sprinkle quite liberally with grated parm, and snip basil leaves across.

Repeat process, finishing with a layer of eggplant on top.

Sprinkle with remaining parm and place dish in upper third of oven.

Check dish after 20 minutes. If there is too much liquid being released, remove excess with spoon. Cook for another 15 minutes. Let rest before serving.

Keywords: Intermediate, Dinner, Main Dish, Vegetarian, Cheese, Italian

( RG306 )