Eggplant Parmigiana

Ahh, eggplant, the things you do to me. I love to cook with eggplant, it’s so versatile. I can just grill some with a drizzle of olive oil and pepper, puree it with some garlic, fry it, the possibilities are endless. Plus, I love to sneak some eggplant into meatballs or burger, it adds great texture and taste and saves some calories!! Now of course, there is the classic Italian dish…Eggplant Parmigiana. Not parmesan, PARMIGIANA!!! 

I absolutely love eggplant parmigiana, it’s just….it’s so good, that is, only if it’s made well. I find that it is easy to make a bad eggplant parmigiana, it can be too salty and the eggplant can get so mushy, you don’t even have a clear sense of what you’re really eating. There has to be a perfect balance, not too mushy, not too crispy, not so much sauce that it’s drowning in it and not so much cheese that it’s overpowering. It’s all about balance. I find that my recipe is just right. If you like more cheese and sauce, by all means, add it!! You should make it the way you like it!! But, I promise you, if you try my version, you’ll never go back to the over-sauced, over-cheesed version!!

Eggplant Parmigiana

1 very large eggplant

1 cup of flour (you may need to eyeball it just to be safe)

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

2 eggs, beaten

10 ounces tomato sauce (recipe below)

3 ounces mozzarella

3 ounces parmigiana

2 tbsp. olive oil

Tomato Sauce

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

2 cloves of chopped garlic

1 tbsp. onion powder

2 cups chopped tomato (I always use San Marzano)

Handful of fresh basil

For the tomato sauce:

Heat a small pot over medium heat and add 2 tbsp. olive oil, salt, pepper and chopped garlic. Allow the garlic to roast a little, around 6 minutes. Add the onion powder and mix. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook for around 10 minutes. Add a handful of chopped basil and turn the heat to low and cook for another 25 minutes. In the meantime, you can begin the eggplant preparation…

For the eggplant:

Prepare a deep pan with 4 tbsp. olive oil and put over medium heat. Clean the eggplant and cut into very thin slices. Add flour to a flat, shallow bowl and add salt and pepper. Dip the slices in a little flour and then the beaten eggs. Fry in the hot oil for around 3 minutes each side; be careful that they don’t burn. When they look done, drain and dry on a wire rack. Finish frying all of the eggplant.

Get out a casserole or lasagna dish and pour a thin layer of tomato sauce on the bottom of the dish. Then, add a layer of eggplant slices. Sprinkle a little parmigiana on top, pour a little more sauce, a little parmgiana and another layer of eggplant, and continue in this order until you’re finished with all of the ingredients, but the layer has to be of the eggplant!! Top the final layer with tomato sauce, a sprinkle of parmigiana and the mozzarella. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees until the top has become a beautiful golden brown. When it appears to be done, take it out and let it cool and set for at least 20 minutes. Slice and serve immediately! Buon Appetito!!

Bella Roma: Part Due; Shopping and Pasta all Norma

Ciao a tutti! Every time we travel, we make a point of leaving a few days to just wander so we don’t get too overwhelmed, I think this is usually a pretty smart choice, at least for us. So, today we decided to walk and browse in and out of some shops. My mother always told me about a department store that she went to on her first trip to Italy with her best friend when they were younger. The store is called Upim. It is basically the Italian equivalent or a Target or JCPenney. My mother and I found it on my first trip in the summer of 2011 and I was very eager to get back. This Store is so much fun!! They have clothing, makeup, accessories, home décor, jewelry…pretty much anything that women love!

I love shopping in Italy and getting brands and designers that are not available in this country, I know that may seem silly, but I get a kick out of it. I especially love buying Italian makeup and shoes! Unfortunately at Upim, you're not allowed to take pictures, so I have none to share with you. Now, enough about the shopping, let’s get to the reason why I’m here: FOOD!! 

After all that shopping, we worked up a good appetite. On our last trip, we were lucky enough to find a little outdoor café just a couple of blocks from Upim, so we decided to have lunch there again, we even had the exact same meal.

Fried Zucchini Flowers, my weakness

Pasta all Norma and a few Fried Zucchini Flowers. You just can’t go wrong. Pasta alla Norma is a favorite of mine. I love eggplant, so the chance to pair it with pasta and  ricotta salata…..mmmmmm. And it doesn’t hurt that it is also named after Vincenzo Bellini’s opera, “Norma.” The story goes that in the 19^th century, Nino Martoglio, a Sicilian writer, poet and theatre director, was so impressed when he first tasted the dish that he compared it to “Norma,” Bellini’s masterpiece. It is a classic Sicilian dish from Catania, a city on the east coast of Sicily.

If you haven’t tried Pasta all Norma, I highly recommend it. What can I say? It’s just a wonderful dish. I hope you enjoy my version, please let me know what you think!

Pasta alla Norma

Pasta alla Norma. Doesn't it look yummy?!?

2 medium eggplants- cut into little cubes (you pick exactly how little)

7 tbsp. olive oil

Salt & Pepper (quanto basta!)

Onion- minced

1 tbsp. red pepper

4 cloves of garlic-minced

1 large can of tomatoes (I always use San Marzano tomatoes, in my opinion, they’re just the best!)

Handful of fresh basil

1 pound of rigatoni

1 cup of ricotta salata

Preheat your over to 400 degrees. Put the eggplant in a bowl and drizzle with 4 tbsp. olive oil. Add salt and pepper and toss. Put the eggplant on a baking sheet and roast for around 20 minutes or until lightly caramelized, but not burnt!!

Heat the remaining oil in a pot over medium heat. Add onions and cook until soft, around 10 minutes. Add red pepper and garlic; continue cooking until the garlic softens. Add tomatoes, some of the basil, salt and cook for around 6-7 minutes.

Boil some water for the pasta. Once it is boiling, add the pasta and cook until al dente, around 9 minutes. Drain pasta and add to the tomato mix. Stir in the eggplant and toss, add the remaining basil and a little salt. Garnish with ricotta salata. As always, I LOVE to hear what you have to say! Boun Appetito!! 

Eggplant Patties

Ciao a tutti!! I have mentioned on many occasions, my love for vegetables. I have also let you in on my dirty little secret….I was a vegetarian. It was a few years ago, but still. Even though I do eat animal protein now, I am still a veggie girl and I am always looking for new and fun things to do with my vegetables to spice them up and give them some new life. So for today, I will be serving Eggplant Patties.

Italians embrace a lot of vegetables in their cooking, whether we are using broccoli, cauliflower, broccoli rabe, zucchini or eggplant, there is so much to be done! You can simply saute your veggies in some garlic and oil, roast them with some rosemary, you can be as creative as you want to be.

My eggplant patties are a wonderful new take on eggplant. They are made with some ricotta cheese which makes them soft and creamy on the inside and crunchy and crispy on the outside. They are full of yummy flavors of parmigiana, parsley and garlic. These are also a wonderful vegetarian burger alternative, make a bigger one for yourself and top with some tomatoes, a little pesto and serve on a whole grain bun. I fry mine because I look for any excuse to fry stuff (come on, can you blame me?!?!) but you can also bake them in the oven if you want. 

These are also in keeping with a lot of the gluten free recipes I have been featuring, so you can enjoy these if you have a gluten allergy or if you are on a low carb or paleo diet. These are just delicious, everyone will love them!! Vegetarians and carnivores alike!!

Eggplant Patties

2 large eggplants

1 1/4 teaspoons salt, divided

Olive oil

2 eggs       

3/4 cup grated Parmesan 

½ cup ricotta cheese

1 1/4 cups almond flour

1/4 cup finely chopped fresh Italian parsley

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 350°F. Cut eggplants crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Place on paper towels. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt; let stand 30 minutes. Brush 2 baking sheets with oil. Pat eggplant dry; put on prepared sheets. Brush lightly with oil. Bake until eggplant is tender and dry, about 1 hour. Cool slightly; chop coarsely. Whisk 1 egg, Parmesan, ricotta, almond flour, parsley, thyme, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in bowl. Stir in chopped eggplant (mixture will be soft). Press and shape eggplant mixture into little round patties. Pour oil into large skillet heat over medium-high heat. Add patties to skillet; sauté until browned, turning often, about 4 minutes. Move to paper towels to drain. Sprinkle with salt and serve. Buon Appetito!!