Eggplant Parmesan

[altivo]

One of my favorite dishes ever. The traditional way to do it is very much loaded with fat though, and even though a large part of the fat is olive oil, that's more calories than I want too. So...

Here's how I do it in a microwave and come up with a much reduced fat version.

Rinse off one medium purple eggplant, and remove stem and blossom ends. No need to peel or salt it, just slice it in crosswise slices about a quarter inch thick. Dip each slice in a mixture of one large egg whisked with a couple of tablespoons of milk, then in a mixture of breadcrumbs and Italian or pizza seasonings. Arrange the slices like fish scales, just slightly overlapping, in a glass microwavable dish that has been oiled or sprayed with cooking spray. Drizzle with just a trickle of olive oil on each slice and microwave uncovered for 10 to 15 minutes, turning once, until they are softened but still holding together and slightly crispy around the edges.

Drop about a tablespoonful of prepared pasta sauce, your choice (I like the chunky garden vegetable combo types, or else the extra mushroom type,) onto each eggplant slice. Then spread finely grated mozarella over all (I use an 8 oz. package, reduced fat is OK.) Sprinkle with an Italian herb blend if desired. Some sesame or fennel seeds are good too, or if you are adventurous, some diced up fennel that has been steamed or sauted to soften it a bit. Add freshly grated Parmesan cheese to taste and return to microwave for 3 to 4 minutes, until cheese are melted and bubbling. Transfer to 300°F oven, uncovered, while serving the salad or soup course.

Boil your choice of pasta during the salad. We like whole wheat spaghetti or linguini. When it is done al dente, drain it and toss with a tiny bit of olive oil. Serve the hot pasta with the eggplant.

We find that one medium eggplant prepared this way serves two people twice. So it really isn't THAT much cheese, only two ounces per serving. Note that there is no meat in this dish, so the cheese is the main source of fat, with the "healthy" olive oil second. Pass the garlic bread if you like.

Leftovers can be covered and refrigerated for up to several days, rewarming in the microwave when you're ready. Deeelicious.

Comments

[keeganfox.livejournal.com]

Why must you tempt me with delicious recipes? Why? WHY!?!?

:9

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Because they're good for you?

[avon-deer.livejournal.com]

I am going to try that one! The only thing I use aubergine eggplant for at the moment is Moussaka.

Aubergine

[altivo.livejournal.com]

*snerk* Believe it or not, the cashier at the supermarket had to ask me what the eggplant was in order to look up the price. I got smart-alecky and told her it was an aubergine, which of course wasn't on her list of little magic codes at all. Then she didn't want to believe me when I explained that it was an eggplant.

It really is true that Americans are becoming totally divorced from the concept of food and food preparation. That cashier was a woman nearly my age and yet she didn't know what an eggplant was, or the difference between plum tomatoes and ordinary ones.

You should try ratatouille as well. EggplantAubergine, zucchinicourgette, and tomatoes in a stew. ;p

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Oh, and if you would share your Moussaka recipe... I thought of making that first, but couldn't find the recipe I thought I had somewhere.

Low fat moussaka

[avon-deer.livejournal.com]

Gladly:

500g Lamb Mince
1 medium onion
2 large cauliflowers
Powdered mustard and paprika
1 Eggplant

Slice the eggplant into slices about 1.5cm thick, lay out on a breadboard and cover with salt. Leave for 20 minutes for the salt to draw out the horrid stuff.

Boil the white part of the cauliflowers.

Brown the mince and lightly brown the onion in a frying pan, mix together than pour into a medium sized baking dish.

Wash the sliced eggplant to get rid of the salt.

Cover the mince and onion with the sliced eggplant. It should be totally covered.

The cauliflower should be soft by now. Drain off and put into a blender with a good sprinkling of mustard powder and paprika (to taste). Blend all together until it forms a thick smooth paste.

Layer this paste on top of the eggplant slices.

Dust the top with more paprika.

Slam in the oven (Gas Mark 4), for an hour and twenty minutes.

Remove and serve.

NOTE: This is a low fat version that uses a cauliflower sauce rather than crushed chickpeas (as the Greeks use). You can beef up the calories a little by adding cottage cheese in place of some of the cauliflower if you like. That tends to make it taste a bit sweeter as well.

Also, there are some metric weights in there…sorry.

Re: Low fat moussaka

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Oh, that's an interesting one I'll have to try. No problem with metric weights, I have a scale that does either way. Anyway, 500g is just over a pound, that one is easy. I'll probably use ground turkey instead of lamb, and season it a bit more.

The moussaka I have here somewhere uses an egg custard sort of sauce instead of the cauliflower or chick peas. It's good, but richer of course, so I want to try this. And we both like cauliflower and chick peas, either way. Thanks.

[heavens-steed.livejournal.com]

How did the eggplant get its name? I don't see how that vegetable resembles eggs at all :P

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Some people say it's because you dip it in egg and fry it, but I disagree.

We are accustomed to see the big purple kind here, but the eggplant originated in Asia and is widely used in the middle eastern area. The variety they grow there is white rather than purple, and smaller, about the size and shape of a large egg. As far as I can tell, both kinds taste the same and can be used interchangeably.

In the garden at our latitude, I prefer the Japanese varieties like "ichiban," which produce more fruit in a shorter time. The big purple eggplants need a long, warm and moist growing season that we just don't have most years.

[doc-moreau.livejournal.com]

Mmmm, that sounds pretty darn good! I've never dealt with eggplants before, as far as preparing them... but maybe sometime i'll try it.

[doc-moreau.livejournal.com]

Eggplants have fascinating acoustics, btw. *chuckles*

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Acoustics?

[doc-moreau.livejournal.com]

Yeah... if you hold an eggplant next to your ear and tap on it it sounds really interesting... not at all how it 'looks' like it would sound. The seeds are kind of like a hollowness, but not really.

At least i hope i'm remembering correctly and it was an eggplant i was tapping :P

I'm a dork...

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Now I have an image of you testing the percussive qualities of all the produce. Like something out of a Weird Al film.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Eggplants are a vegetarian's friend. You can do some clever things with them, both traditional and non. One of my old favorites was something I invented: Eggplant Stroganoff. Basically it's a beef stroganoff recipe, but you substitute eggplant strips for the beef. Otherwise, pretty much the same recipe. Very rich and tasty, served over noodles or rice. And not that hard to do, either.

Ratatouille is even easier. Eggplant, zucchini, maybe a yellow summer squash, two or three ripe tomatoes, and a cucumber. A little garlic and red pepper for seasoning. Cut up the eggplant and squash, and toss in some olive oil. Stir fry it in the bottom of a largish kettle. Add a little red wine or vegetable stock, the cut up tomatoes and the seasonings. Cover and cook on low heat until all the veggies are soft and the tomatoes have made a gravy or sauce. Add diced up cucumber and serve. You can toss on a dab of sour cream when serving if you like. Fresh baked bread on the side. Mmm.

[cabcat.livejournal.com]

You would definitely like Sicillian spaghetti, although it does have mince.
Garlic bread?! *looks hopefully at the fridge*

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Sorry, no garlic bread. I didn't think of it when we had the eggplant.