March 15, 2010


Rainy Sunday Supper

It was determination and hunger that brought it together so quickly. Eggplant parmigiana. Our recipe.

So simple, this recipe. Roberto performs his part, I perform mine. We meet at the counter, ready to layer. Anticipation is great.

Roberto prepped the eggplant, a nice wash and thinly sliced (two rather large out-of-season eggplant—I could not help myself). I grated mozzarella, opened up two cans of San Marzano, and prepped the breadcrumbs (store bought for ease)/egg wash (salt, pepper, whole milk).

Then...

While I bread the eggplant, Roberto prepped the ricotta (a mix of ricotta, parsley, egg, salt and pepper) for layering, milled the tomatoes and chopped the garlic/shallot for the sauce (our tried and true red—made weekly).

Then...

While I prepped the sheet pans with olive oil (a thin brush of light—best for frying and occasionally dressing salad when one wants less personal commentary on their mixed greens) and layered the eggplant for baking, Roberto made the sauce.

Then...

While I waited for 15 minutes (ho-hum), flipped the eggplant (!ouch, that tray is hot!), and waited 15 minutes more (come on already!), Roberto grated the parmesan.

On the counter, baked eggplant piled high, red sauce, grated mozzarella, grated parmesan, ricotta and ready to receive layer after layer, a beautiful blue scalloped dish (made in Portugal).

A thin layer of sauce coated the bottom of the dish. A layer of eggplant followed, filling in the gaps with smaller pieces (hand torn). Another thin layer of sauce. A sprinkling of mozzarella. Dabs and dollops of ricotta. A sprinkling of parmesan. A layer of eggplant. Another thin layer of sauce...etc, etc, etc.

Four layers later, the dish was covered with foil and retreated to the oven for one hour. I nearly died from anticipation and near starvation (we had not eaten lunch—I get ornery when I'm hungry). My stomach grumbled. I tapped my fingers nervously and paced about. Peering periodically into the oven at the covered dish unable to ascertain the progress (aaarrrggghhh).


When we sat down to the table, we both devoured super sized pieces with fierce happiness and pleasure. It was so good that I couldn't think of a life without its leftovers...That's when Roberto said we should take the other half over to his parents house. My dreams of Monday night dinner of leftover eggplant parmigiana had been shattered, but then a happy warm feeling took over.

"It's nice to share." I said.

Roberto delivered the rest of the eggplant parmigiana to his parents where his mother greeted him and the warm parcel with happy anticipation. It is nice to share.

22 comments:

  1. Wow. this is a whole new recipe for me!
    My grand mother made wonderful "Aubergines à la parmesane" but with no ricotta or parmegiano.
    I have to try your recipe:)
    Your photos are great!

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  2. *sigh* i can't wait for eggplants to grow in maine again. looks delicious, and beautiful tulips!

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  3. I got so hungry reading this! A nice change from the typical roasted eggplant lasagna that I usually make with eggplant.

    http://bonappyall.blogspot.com/

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  4. sounds like comfort food to me :)

    I love your blue baking dish, really pretty.

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  5. I'm feeling a bit hungry and ornery myself at the moment, but I still stayed to read about your lovely eggplant dance with Roberto. You two are so fabulous in the kitchen together. It's nice to share.

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  6. This sounds absolutely divine! A perfect coming into spring dish. Thank you for sharing.

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  7. Cool drizzly greetings from Frog Hollow Farm! Your writing is fantabulous - is that a word? Anyway, I read your blog with total anticipation - it's really a pleasure and it's fun!

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  8. I forgot about how delicious this combo can be...thanks for the reminder!

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  9. Ohhh, you are so lovely. :-) It IS nice to share, and you are a doll for doing so. :-) I love your beautiful Portuguese dish. I have a purple one that I love so much. :-)

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  10. mmmm....craving! yours looks much lovelier than my attempt at something similar last year.

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  11. honestly one of the most perfect of dishes. wonderful.

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  12. I love eggplant parm; and your version looks delicious. I'm sure that the wait was worth it.

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  13. Excellent teamwork! My husband stays out of the kitchen (per my request) but sometimes I think it would be nice to have a sous chef! You are making me very hungry for lunch!

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  14. VERY nice to share. I too cannot help myself with those out-of-season eggplants; there are so many wonderful cold weather recipes waiting to use them----like this parmigiana.

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  15. you are right, once we muster up the generousity to share, feels so good :)looks great!

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  16. Ooh I love aubergines. We became quite addicted to them last summer/ autumn and were most disappointed when our own carefully tended plants failed to produce any fruits. We are hoping for better luck this year and then I will be trying out this lovely recipe. Who am I kidding? I will be trying it out anyway with some shop-bought.

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  17. Your eggplant looks wonderful! I love how thinly sliced - that makes all the diffrence in my book! Yum! And it looks so pretty in your beautiful blue dish.

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  18. Hi Tracy,

    I've just discovered your blog from the Wednesday Chef and think it's so lovely. Recipes with aubergines are always a hit with me so this sounds just perfect. Wonderful writing and photos too! Greetings from Berlin.

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  19. Aubergine (I know I know, I am English) parmigiana and tulips - delicious both of them. I am not sure I would have shared such a handsome supper..... but on second thoughts maybe I would if I lived around the corner from Italian parents - I think you might get something very nice in return. I like the idea of ricotta too.

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  20. Thank you everyone, for your nice comments, they really brighten my day. :)

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  21. ooooh! this looks soooooo good. I need eggplant parm, STAT!

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