My friend, Christine, came over for dinner after a long commute back home from Chicago by train. I was going to make this for David last weekend, but I made enchiladas.
First make the sauce. My sauce is simple and I'm not sure I have given the recipe entirely away, but let's just say you can do a lot if you sautee a rib of celery, an onion and two cloves of garlic (all finely minced) in olive oil, then add a large can of tomato puree and two cans of tomato paste. You can figure out your own seasonings to taste, and add several cups of water for the right consistency you like. My consistency is 4 cups to that mixture.
Or you can use jarred sauce if you like a certain kind, but then you probably need on jar for the eggplant and one more for your pasta.
Then, peel and slice one very large or two medium eggplants. They shouldn't be too thick, maybe quarter of an inch, so they cook up easily and don't absorb most of the oil. Put them in a strainer and sprinkle sea salt on them to draw out some of the bitterness and excess water for 30 minutes while you prepare your dredges in three pie plates.
First pie plate, about 2 cups of flour seasoned with salt, pepper and a garlic seasoning blend if you like. Second pie plate, 5 eggs, whisked completely. Third pie plate, about 2 cups of Italian bread crumbs, add salt, pepper and the same seasoning if you like.
Now heat a couple of cups of canola oil in a large frying pan. You want it hot but not smoking. The eggplant will absorb oil if it's not hot enough. It should sizzle with a small drop of water dropped in. Careful. You can also use the first small slice of eggplant as a tester.
Dredge your eggplant through plates 1, 2 and 3, coating with each step. Drop into the hot oil and brown on each side. You'll probably have to repeat this process 3 or 4 times to finish them all, draining the browned eggplant slices on a rack with paper towel to catch excess oil.
Now you can assemble your casserole. I made two small ones, one for tonight with Christine and one for David whenever he wants. I'll freeze it and bake it later. It was going to be way too much food for two people. To assemble, first spray a casserole with non-stick spray, I use Crisco spray because it doesn't leave a nasty film on my dishes that won't come off. Then ladle a small amount of sauce into your casserole dish, enough to lightly coat the bottom. Then arrange a single layer of eggplant slices. Top those with more sauce, covering them up entirely. Top the sauce with a sprinkling of parmesan cheese and mozzarella. Another layer of eggplant, another layer of sauce, another layer of cheese. You get it, until you run out. I made just two layers and I put more cheese on the second layer.
Pop it in the oven, covered, at 350 for 45 minutes or until oozy and bubbly. You'll know when it's done. You can uncover the last 5-10 minutes to brown the top.
Serve with al dente pasta of your choice and another slathering of sauce on your pasta, a little crusty bread if you want and some vino. You may want to make a salad ahead of this meal, but we're having tiramisu, so we're going to be overfull.
Enjoy!
First make the sauce. My sauce is simple and I'm not sure I have given the recipe entirely away, but let's just say you can do a lot if you sautee a rib of celery, an onion and two cloves of garlic (all finely minced) in olive oil, then add a large can of tomato puree and two cans of tomato paste. You can figure out your own seasonings to taste, and add several cups of water for the right consistency you like. My consistency is 4 cups to that mixture.
Or you can use jarred sauce if you like a certain kind, but then you probably need on jar for the eggplant and one more for your pasta.
Then, peel and slice one very large or two medium eggplants. They shouldn't be too thick, maybe quarter of an inch, so they cook up easily and don't absorb most of the oil. Put them in a strainer and sprinkle sea salt on them to draw out some of the bitterness and excess water for 30 minutes while you prepare your dredges in three pie plates.
First pie plate, about 2 cups of flour seasoned with salt, pepper and a garlic seasoning blend if you like. Second pie plate, 5 eggs, whisked completely. Third pie plate, about 2 cups of Italian bread crumbs, add salt, pepper and the same seasoning if you like.
Now heat a couple of cups of canola oil in a large frying pan. You want it hot but not smoking. The eggplant will absorb oil if it's not hot enough. It should sizzle with a small drop of water dropped in. Careful. You can also use the first small slice of eggplant as a tester.
Dredge your eggplant through plates 1, 2 and 3, coating with each step. Drop into the hot oil and brown on each side. You'll probably have to repeat this process 3 or 4 times to finish them all, draining the browned eggplant slices on a rack with paper towel to catch excess oil.
Now you can assemble your casserole. I made two small ones, one for tonight with Christine and one for David whenever he wants. I'll freeze it and bake it later. It was going to be way too much food for two people. To assemble, first spray a casserole with non-stick spray, I use Crisco spray because it doesn't leave a nasty film on my dishes that won't come off. Then ladle a small amount of sauce into your casserole dish, enough to lightly coat the bottom. Then arrange a single layer of eggplant slices. Top those with more sauce, covering them up entirely. Top the sauce with a sprinkling of parmesan cheese and mozzarella. Another layer of eggplant, another layer of sauce, another layer of cheese. You get it, until you run out. I made just two layers and I put more cheese on the second layer.
Pop it in the oven, covered, at 350 for 45 minutes or until oozy and bubbly. You'll know when it's done. You can uncover the last 5-10 minutes to brown the top.
Serve with al dente pasta of your choice and another slathering of sauce on your pasta, a little crusty bread if you want and some vino. You may want to make a salad ahead of this meal, but we're having tiramisu, so we're going to be overfull.
Enjoy!
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