Call it an aubergine. Call it a melanzana. But why, in the United States, do we call it an eggplant? The other names are much more befitting the beautiful, purple-skinned and meaty-fleshed vegetable that is an important part of cuisines from India to Italy.
I pondered this several years ago as I dined on my favorite baked eggplant, at Mimo's Italian Restaurant on Furys Ferry Road. The restaurant has been sold and is now called Luciano's Italian Restaurant, but the eggplant recipe remained the same.
The dish combines a blend of herbed, breaded eggplant slices with a marinara of garlic and olive oil packed, topped with mozzarella cheese and baked. How could I re-create such perfection at home?
After many attempts, I came up with a homemade version that could tame my restaurant cravings. I call it Melanzana Mozzarella instead of the more common name, eggplant Parmesan. (Melanzana is the Italian word for eggplant, and aubergine the French word.)
My version requires around 35 minutes of preparation time before baking the assembled dish. Most restaurants pan-fry breaded eggplant slices, which requires frying in small batches until all the eggplant is done. My time-saver is oven-baking peeled eggplant slices that have been dredged in flour, then dipped into beaten egg and finished in seasoned bread crumbs. Olive oil is drizzled over the top, and the eggplant is popped into the oven.
The sauce is my quick marinara that I've printed many times in this column. This time, I've added a hefty dose of olive oil, which is necessary to replicate the flavor of the restaurant version. You can omit the olive oil if you would like a lower-fat dish.
The baked eggplant at Luciano's is baked in individual casseroles, but I bake mine lasagna-style in a 9-inch-square baking dish.
I usually place the baking dish onto a cookie sheet to avoid a mess on the bottom of my oven.
Melanzana Mozzarella can be made ahead, freezes beautifully after baked and feeds six adults with big appetites, or up to eight people with moderate appetites.
Add a salad, good bread and a glass of chianti for a taste of Italian home cooking.
Melanzana Mozzarella
2 medium eggplants
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 eggs
2 cups seasoned bread crumbs
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 26-30-ounce jar tomato-basil pasta sauce
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes with roasted garlic, undrained
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Set oven to 400 degrees. Line 2 to 3 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Combine flour, salt and pepper in a shallow bowl and set aside. Beat eggs in a shallow bowl and set aside. Combine bread crumbs, garlic salt, oregano and black pepper in a shallow bowl and set aside.
Peel 1 eggplant and slice into ½-inch rounds. Dip the slices, one at a time, into the flour, shaking off the excess. Dip into the egg, turning to coat both sides, and then into the bread crumbs, coating well on both sides, and place onto the parchment-lined baking sheets. Repeat with remaining eggplant slices.
When entire first eggplant is dipped, peel and slice the remaining eggplant and repeat process (you might need a little more flour, egg and bread crumbs).
Drizzle olive oil over the eggplant slices (about 2 tablespoons per baking sheet) and bake 30 minutes. Rotate pans and bake 5 minutes more, until crisp and golden.
Remove from oven and set aside.
Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine the remaining olive oil, pasta sauce and diced tomatoes. Spread ½ to ¾ cup of the sauce in the bottom of a 9-by-9-inch baking dish. Tightly pack a layer of the eggplant slices over the sauce and top with ½ cup to ¾ cup of the sauce. Repeat for 2 to 3 layers, depending on the size of the eggplants. Cover tightly with foil and bake 45 minutes.
Remove from oven; remove foil and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Return to the oven and bake 15 minutes more, until cheese is bubbly.
Makes 8 servings.
Contact Karin Calloway at karin.calloway@comcast.net. See her prepare the recipe at noon Tuesday on television station WJBF (Channel 6). Follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/karincalloway.
GROCERIES
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes with roasted garlic, undrained
1 26-30-ounce jar tomato-basil pasta sauce
Seasoned bread crumbs (2 cups)
2 medium eggplants
1 8-ounce package shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese (2 cups)
PANTRY AND REFRIGERATOR STAPLES:
All-purpose flour
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Garlic salt
Dried oregano
Extra-virgin olive oil
Large eggs
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