Eggplant Parmesan
In Claudia Roden’s The Good Food Of Italy: region by region, the eggplant is heralded as
“the most important vegetable” in Calabria, the region of Italy known as the toe.
Marinade, bake, pickle, smoke, or fry to transform this raw, bland and chewy fruit into meaty sustenance.
The earthy tones of eggplant marry well with the briney addition of anchovy paste and parmesan, creaminess of the mozarella, the spice of red pepper flakes and fresh fruity notes of the tomatoes. For my eggplant parmesan I wanted the slices to maintain the integrity of the layers when slicing, just as my mum always achieved with her homemade Moussaka. The key to building those layers is documented below.
Building the dish
The Eggplant
The secret to a great layered eggplant dish is to remove the excess moisture. Pick the freshest, smoothest and shiniest fruits when you select eggplant and cut slices, 1/3″ thick and lay in a single layer on a large baking sheet with a tea towel underneath. Sprinkle a generous amount of salt onto each slice (some of which will be wiped away later,) cover with a layer of paper towels and leave to dehydrate overnight. Wipe the excess water from the slices and put pressure on each one to ensure the water is emitted.
The Sauce
The secret to the layers, in addition to the eggplant preparation, is a thick and rich marinara sauce. Add in the anchovy that melts into the sauce and produces a “meaty savoriness that really does heighten the flavor of other fish, meats and vegetables.” – The Flavor Thesaurus. A good quality store bought chunky marinara sauce is ideal. Alternatively, our Marinara blend is what I used to make the sauce for this.
The Cheese
Choose a regular, sliceable low moisture mozzarella because they have better melting properties and are drier, therefore don’t give out as much liquid as the fresh variety. Finely grated parmesan cheese works well in the breadcrumb mixture for coating the eggplant.
I was able to slice and serve the portions without them falling apart, and dressed it with a side salad. The vivid and rich tomato flavor is intense in this recipe which puts it into my top 5 of vegetarian dishes as a main course. If you want to brown the melted cheese on top after cooking, put it under the broiler for a couple of minutes until it bubbles.
- 2 pounds of eggplant / 2 large eggplants / 1/3 inch slices (skin on)
- 1 tbsp kosher salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1/8 cup milk
- 3/4 cup Italian breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup / 2 oz Parmesan cheese, grated
- 3 cups marinara sauce
- 2 tsp anchovy paste *optional
- 8 oz mozzarella cheese, low moisture, split - 4 oz grated, 4 oz sliced
- prepare the eggplant slices overnight or 4 hours before using (see notes below)
- mix the eggs and milk in a medium bowl
- put the breadcrumbs onto a plate
- take each slice of eggplant and dip into the egg mixture, followed by the breadcrumbs on both sides to coat
- lay the coated sliced back on the baking sheet
- spray slow cooker insert with non stick spray
- mix the marinara sauce with the anchovy paste
- spoon 1/3 marinara sauce into the slow cooker
- lay 1/3 eggplant slices on the sauce
- sprinkle half of the grated mozarella on top of the eggplant
- repeat steps 7-9
- then layer the final 1/3 marinara sauce and final 1/3 eggplant slices topped with the slices of mozarella
- cover and cook on LOW for 6 hours of HIGH for 3 hours
- cut slices, 1/3″ thick and lay in a single layer on a large baking sheet with a tea towel underneath. Sprinkle a generous amount of salt onto each slice (some of which will be wiped away later,) cover with a layer of paper towels and leave to dehydrate overnight. Wipe the excess water from the slices and put pressure on each one to ensure the water is emitted.
Commenting on eggplants
“..in Italy and other hot countries, where they [the fruits] come to their full maturity, and proper relish, they [the people] doe eate them with more desire and pleasure than we do Cowcumbers.” John Parkinson – English 17th century horticulturist
