recipe: eggplant parmesan

deepsouth

i went to jackson, ms to visit my uncle, a retired catholic priest..... he is also an artist and gourmet chef and a published author.... we were up to visit my uncle who is undergoing treatment for cancer and stopped by uncle paul's place for a "light" lunch....

we had.....

a nice salad with olive oil and balsamic
tomato basil beer bread
roasted chicken
eggplant parmesan
fresh sliced peaches, bananas & blueberries in carmelized molasses and half & half

the eggplant parmesan is the best i've ever had (and i'm italian and have traveled to italy several times), so i wanted to share the recipe.

this was cooked in the oven, but i'm sure it could be cooked on the egg.


"the original sicilian recipe for eggplant parmesan included sliced potatoes and sliced onion, each fried separately and placed in alternate layers with the eggplants. finally, there was a topping of tomato sauce, medallions of mozzarella and basil leaves.

3 medium eggplants
1 quart of basic tomato sauce
1/2 pound of sliced mozzarella
2 cups grated parmesan
bread crumbs
butter
olive oil for frying (yes, olive oil)
fresh basil

cut the eggplants lengthwise (japanese eggplant) or the other way for the big round eggplants and allow them to drain either laying them out in the sun or by salting and laying them on an inclined surface.

fry the eggplants in olive oil, not so much as to cover the eggplant however. do not drain the eggplant. in an oiled pan, layer the eggplant slices, tomatoe sauce, mozzarella slices, and parmesan cheese. end with a topping of parmesan, bread crumbs & small pieces of butter.

bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. remove from oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes. garnish with fresh basil."


he has a website for his cookbook, which is also contains some of his artwork and his travel notes. it is a hardback "coffee table" book.

www.soitalian.net


he has sold 2000 of the 3000 copies of the first run so far.

he has also written a book about the italains that settled in the delta, titled "the delta italians". this book has been translated to italian and will be release in italy as well.


this dish was so wonderful, i had to share it. it is in the cookbook referenced above.

Rascal

Thank you for the recipe! That's one of my favorite dishes! 8 - )

deepsouth

as an aside..... often times my uncle will make his own tomato sauce, but with short notice, he has absolutely no problem grabbing some store bought sauce.

Rascal

I hear ya! I've got a formula for making tomato sauce in a large wok, using fresh, plum tomatoes, spices, garlic & white merlot. It's a process where things thicken as the tomatoes and wine reduce in the wide environment of the open wok. Tossing in a lobster or two at the end will most likely create an incurable addiction!
Happy times at the feedin' table!