Well, this non-Italian cook decided to make Eggplant Parm!
Let me be clear, I'm no expert at this, I have never made it before and have not ordered it off the menu too many times - in fact, it has to be said that I have always considered eggplant to be a mushy veg that is great in Ratatouille, but otherwise... well, let's just say I never gave it the credit that I know so many of you do.
Well, my first attempt was delicious, to my surprise! Here's what I did. I am sure much of the deliciousness was thanks to the fabulous sauce - I hope you enjoy it too:
~ Heat the oven to 425 Deg.
* 9 slices of eggplant about 1/2" thick
~ Salted and left to stand in the colander for about 20 minutes, rinced and dried with paper towel.
* 1/2 C Italian breadcrumbs
* 1 egg, whisked with salt and pepper
~ Coat the eggplant slices with seasoned egg and sparsely with breadcrumbs on both sides
~ Spray a cookie sheet with Pam or olive oil spray and bake the slices for 15-18 minutes. Turn over and sprinkle
* 1 TBSP of grated Parmesan cheese on each slice.
~ Replace in the oven and cook for a further 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and then reduce the temp to 375 deg.
~ In the meantime; take
* a generous cupful of frozen green beans and
* 1 C frozen cooked bell pepper strips
~ Place them in the colander and run under warm water to thaw.
~ Spray a shallow casserole dish with Pam or olive oil spray and begin with a layer of
* 3/4 C home-made or bottled pasta sauce, then
* the layer of beans and peppers (to bulk up the meal),
* sprinkle with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and 1 heaped TBSP of dried basil, then
* the layer of baked eggplant slices, then
* a good dollop of tomato sauce on each slice of eggplant (I used another 3/4 C),
* and finally sprinkle 4 oz 2% milk reduced-fat shredded mozzarella cheese, over the whole thing
~ Place the whole dish in the oven and cook until golden brown - about 20 minutes.
Makes 4 servings
PPV per serving 5
No comments:
Post a Comment