Saturday, September 27, 2014

Broiled Eggplant Parmigiana

Monday 22 September
About a week ago, we made a gratin out of our haul of farmers' market eggplants and tomatoes.  We said then that we had an idea for a quicker method of getting the same (or a better) effect from the same ingredients, so today we got some more eggplant and tomatoes, and actually did it; and it only took a little over an hour from peel to plate.

Eggplant Parmigiana Rounds
Large (2+ pound) eggplant, peeled and sliced into 3/4" thick rounds
olive oil
salt and pepper
ca. 4 oz. melty cheese, grated (ours was fontina, but mozzarella or scamorza would be great)
handful of basil, torn up
2 big tomatoes, sliced into 1/2" thick rounds
ca. 3 oz. graty cheese, grated (ours was romano, but asiago, grana or parmesan would be - grate)
ca. 2 oz. breadcrumbs
Line a baking tray with parchment paper brushed with oil.  Arrange rounds of eggplant on tray and brush the tops with oil seasoned with salt and pepper.  Broil at 450º for ca. 8 minutes until golden; flip, brush with more seasoned oil, and broil 8 minutes more until golden.  Turn off broiler, and reset oven to 350º.
Top each round with melty cheese, then torn up basil, then a matching slice of tomato.
Mix grating cheese with breadcrumbs, and season with salt and pepper.  Pat the mixture on top of each tomato round. 
Put the tray back in the oven for 8-10 minutes, until warmed through.  If necessary, turn on the broiler for a minute more until tops are melty and crisp.

In our humble opinion, this is far easier, quicker, and tastier than the other recipes we've seen.  So if you don't have all day to make Karen's Nanny's eggplant parmigiana, this is your next best option.


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