Thursday, January 29, 2009

Four-Cheese Eggplant Parmigiana

So I'm in the kitchen --all set to start the recipe when I discover I have only three cheeses on hand. Suddenly it becomes a three-cheese, not four-cheese eggplant parmigiana sandwich like the delicious one I ate recently at "Tre Piani," in Princeton's Forrestal Village.
OK, I can live with that, I tell myself, but whoa -- then I realize I don't have any nice crusty Italian rolls. Should have checked the larder first. So my longed-for sandwich morphs into just eggplant parmigiana, with a salad on the side. Sometimes you gotta go with the flow.

There were no complaints -- we practically licked the plates. But next time I make it, I'm gonna go for the gusto and use all four cheeses, which I've included in the recipe below. The sandwich I ate at Tre Piani had a really sharp bite, and I'm guessing it was blue cheese, so I included some in mine. Naturally, you can use any combination or proportion of cheeses you like. Just keep Velveeta out of the picture -- please.

The cheeses may make this a really rich dish, but let's face it, they don't do much for your hips. So I made an adjustment for calories' sake and baked the eggplant slices, rather than fried them. Honestly, you'd never know the difference. And it may help come bathing suit season.

Four Cheese Eggplant Parmigiana

1 large eggplant
salt
1 cup flour
1 cup bread crumbs
1 large egg, beaten with 2 T. milk
olive oil, to coat pan
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup grated blue cheese
1/2 cup grated Asiago or Fontina cheese
1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese

about 2 cups of your favorite tomato sauce
(I used a good homemade sauce my brother Frank had canned and given to me)

About an hour before starting, slice the eggplant and sprinkle with salt. Place on paper towels and let sit for a half hour. Press down on the paper towels, then turn around to the other side and sprinkle with salt. After a half hour, press down on the paper towels again, or use more to get rid of excess moisture.

Dredge the slices with flour, then dip in the egg mixture and dredge with the bread crumbs. Spread a light layer of oil on a cookie sheet and place the eggplant on the sheet. Bake the slices for about 15 minutes in a preheated 425 degree oven. Flip the slices and bake for another 15 minutes. Remove from oven.

In a heatproof casserole, spread a layer of tomato sauce and add a layer of the eggplant slices, cutting them to fit the casserole. Mix all the grated cheeses in a bowl and spread half of the mixture over the eggplant. Repeat the process - tomato sauce, eggplant slices and the cheeses. Spread a layer of tomato sauce on top to finish. Bake lightly covered in a 375 degree oven for 25-30 minutes. Serves four normal appetites or two really ravenous folk.

10 comments:

  1. Yum, I've never thought of putting blue cheese in it before!

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  2. I will say it again:
    My birthday is Dec. 23.

    Eggplant parmesan and fig jam please!

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  3. Linda, I've been meaning to make eggplant parmigiana. Thanks, you sort of remind me that I should make it soon.
    Cheers,
    Elra

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  4. Three, four..what's the difference? ;) This parmigiana has my mouth watering! No bread? Bah! Who needs it! Wonderful job here, Linda. Looks a lot like ours.Keep up the good work. I love your blog :)

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  5. Eggplant Parm with Blue cheese...I've got to try that. Looks delicious.

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  6. That looks good! I really like the sound of the blue cheese in it!

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  7. Che buona! This looks really good. You've inspired me to try making one.

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  8. First time visitor and I see some familiar faces, nice.

    Eggplant is one of my fave veggie dishes and egpplant well, rocks!

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  9. I never baked my eggplant slices when making eggplant parmigiana. I always fry them. I have to try this next time as I imagine they would be lighter and healthier. I love blue cheese, but I don't think my husband would like it with his eggplant --I'll have to make his half the usual way.

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