In Which I Have Made Myself VERY HUNGRY
Like a great number of other healthy, delicious vegetables [SEE: arugula; broccoli rabe; endive], I didn’t taste eggplant until I lived in Italy. This is not to say that Italians only eat greens (hello, pasta!) or that they are more health-conscious than my mother (because that is simply not possible); just that fresh vegetables and fruits are ubiquitous and cheap, not to mention fresh and delicious, if bought at the local markets in Italy.
The first eggplant I encountered was breaded and fried “cutlet-style,” a common Sicilian side dish, and it was love at first bite. The crunchy, flavorful breading surrounds a juicy, soft eggplant interior that melts in the mouth. Here’s a recipe for them from my recipe box: Cotolette di Melanzane
Eggplant is so versatile. It can be baked, fried, grilled, boiled, braised, breaded, and even though it tastes completely different each way, it’s still just as delicious. You can put it in pasta sauce, layer it on pizza or turn it into a dip for pita—you can even stuff it, as the marvelous sognatrice demonstrates on her blog.
If you just consider the standard Eggplant Parmigiana, there are as many ways of making it as there are cooks, which means that the ideal Parmigiana I crave is a bizarre mixture of all of the versions I’ve tried: the sauce would have to somehow be plain marinara while also containing prosciutto cotto (both cubed and sliced), boiled egg, capers, onions, garlic, ground beef, hot peppers and capers; the eggplant would have to be fried and baked, breaded and plain, and cut crosswise and lengthwise; the dish would have to be layered with mozzarella, scamorza, pecorino, ricotta, breadcrumbs, and béchamel; and it would have to be served both hot, warm and cold. Thus far, reality has prevented me from realizing this ideal recipe, but I am determined to persevere.
In the meantime, here is a recipe that uses breaded eggplant cutlets and has a spicy tomato sauce with capers: Melanzane alla Parmigiana. Be sure not to eat it all at once; it only gets better after being chilled overnight.
Enjoy!
Like
September 13th, 2007 at 12:40 pm
Well now you’ve gone and made me hungry too. Looks like I need to go find some more eggplants before they’re out of season….
September 13th, 2007 at 12:46 pm
you fucking homo do you know andy tibbitts?
September 13th, 2007 at 2:00 pm
Hey. Only people I know are allowed to call me a fucking homo.
Anyway, I have a cousin named Andy. Why?
September 15th, 2007 at 4:44 pm
The link to the delicious-sounding recipe you mention appears not to be working: it just opens your entire blog in another window… Can you post the recipe somewhere else or rectify the link? Much appreciated! Yours most hungrily,
D.
September 15th, 2007 at 5:28 pm
Fixed! I think.
September 16th, 2007 at 6:05 am
Right, I realised that there are in fact two links in your post and it’s the latter of the two that appears not to work: the recipe for Melanzane alla Parmigiana with capers. Sorry for being such a nuisance…
September 16th, 2007 at 11:41 pm
No, I think it’s RecipeThing being the nuisance. I can’t access the site at all. As soon as it’s back up I think I’m going to transfer all my recipes onto my own website, and switch the links. Sorry about that!