Comments on: An Oldie, Butta Goodie

By: Playing Favorites « Straight from the Farm

Playing Favorites « Straight from the Farm — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 17:55:23 +0000

[...] vegetable. Eggplant. I could eat eggplant a million different ways and never get tired of it. My absolute favorite preparation is eggplant parmesan, for which I’ve offered a great recipe in th… But there are a few Indian dishes that use eggplant that could easily topple my champion from its [...]

By: Not Quite McDonald’s « Straight from the Farm

Not Quite McDonald’s « Straight from the Farm — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 18:44:49 +0000

[...] version. Really, what baked food can truly compare to its fried counterpart, except maybe the baked eggplant parmesan recipe I shared awhile back? That being said, carrot fries are very similar to sweet potato fries [...]

By: Jennie

Jennie — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 11:09:22 +0000

Definitely let me know if you try it again, Joanna!

By: Joanna

Joanna — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 21:04:54 +0000

Thanks for the review about eggplant gets salted; I think I mostly knew that, but your explanation was concise and helpful. (And I’m absolutely sure fresh grated cheese would have made a difference, but I’d forgotten to buy some!)

I will keep this recipe in mind to try again, and let you know how it turns out!

By: Jennie

Jennie — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 16:00:08 +0000

Joanna – hmmm, yes, it does sound like you left the eggplant with the salt for too long. The salt, as you may well know, is meant to do two things – first, draw out moisture from the slices so they don’t get soggy when baked up and second, reduce the slight bitterness that eggplant has sometimes. My guess is that by leaving them salted for so long, you took out too much moisture and all the bitterness. I also would suggest being sure to use fresh grated cheese next time. The stuff that comes in a jar is usually much saltier than the fresh stuff. Likely that overpowered any remaining taste in the eggplant.

I hope you’ll give this recipe another try with the modifications…it really is such a superb little meal! Thanks for posting your questions so we can all learn a little more!

By: Joanna

Joanna — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 15:29:51 +0000

Hey Jenny,

I’ve occasionally been reading your blog for awhile (even before we both started blogging for Farm to Philly), but I’ve finally gotten around to trying some of your recipes over the last few days. I found this entry from your ‘Alone with Many Eggplants’ entry, and it seemed like a revelation of the *perfect* recipe for my mood, since with all the tomato abundance around, I’ve been craving red sauce and melted cheese.

Unfortunately for me, I’ve only cooked with Italian eggplants once or twice before, so I had a little trouble with it. (Sorry — I’m sure it’s a good recipe!) I think I accidentally let my eggplants sit in the salt for too long — over 40 minutes. So, after they were breaded and baked, the breadcrumbs and cheese (I didn’t have fresh parmesan to grate, so I used up some of the commercial grated parmesan I had in my fridge from long ago) were the prominent taste, not the eggplant. Do you think that was from salting them too long? Or maybe I cut the eggplant slices too thin to begin with?

By: Jennie

Jennie — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 21:28:42 +0000

Rachel –
So glad you and Nathan liked it!!! It’s by far my favorite way to make eggplant at home.

By: Rachel

Rachel — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 21:12:51 +0000

I’ve tried other “lower fat/baked” eggplant parm recipes, but this one is the best I’ve had. Excellent! And the Nathan report-he ate 2 slices, too.

By: Alone with Many Eggplants « Straight from the Farm

Alone with Many Eggplants « Straight from the Farm — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 15:05:21 +0000

[...] While I was kicking back in my nylon armchair with built-in cup holder (whatever did Americans do before these souped-up lawn chairs came along?) at the campsite in Maine, I quickly flew through the pages of my latest favorite read. Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant is a fascinating compilation of literary glimpses into several foodies’ – some more famous than others – habits when cooking and dining alone. Besides the content, I was initially drawn to the cover graphics, as is often the case with me and new books that haven’t come to me on prior recommendation. In fact, the sliced eggplant “informed” (okay, I was trying to create a knock-off) one of my previous recipe photos. [...]

By: Jennie

Jennie — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 11:45:32 +0000

Jolynna – yes, yes, try the roasted red peppers too and let us know how those turn out.