Eggplant Parmesan with Fresh Tomato Sauce

Technically, eggplants, like cucumbers or tomatoes, are fruits, not vegetables.  But since they are eaten as a vegetable, I fully intend to refer them as such (plus, it's just easier and less confusing that way).  Honestly, I don't care what they're called; I just like to eat them.

Eggplant in season, much like a cucumber or tomato, is an entirely different vegetable from the eggplant shipped up from warmer climates during winter or spring.  Out of season, eggplant tends to be spongy, bruised, and bitter, and who would want to eat something like that?  If you've only ever eaten eggplant in that state, well, you have my deepest sympathies.  Right now, the farmer's markets are brimming with shiny, firm, sleek eggplant, and since it only comes once a year, I'm roasting, baking, frying, mashing, dressing and otherwise loving it.  It's so fresh that it doesn't need to be peeled or salted and pressed to help disguise the bitterness of age.  Baked, like the Eggplant Parmesan recipe I'm about to share, the eggplant takes on a creamy goodness that bears no resemblance to it's winter counterpart.  And it's a wonderful thing.

I love the traditional baked eggplant parmesan casseroles, layered with marinara and oozing with mozzarella.  But sometimes, I just want a lighter, but filling, pasta dish.  In this recipe, we'll bread and bake the eggplant cutlets, whip up a quick, fresh tomato basil sauce and serve it over pasta.  All those fresh ingredients working together on the plate make this dish heavenly.

When choosing your eggplants, look for ones that are about 3-4 inches in diameter, with shiny purple, taught, unmottled skin.  Try to avoid the larger ones for this dish if you can because those tend to have more seeds and seem to harbor more of those bitter qualities.  If for some reason you question the integrity of your eggplant, you might want to prep it with salt; after you cut your rounds, salt both sides of each round and place on a cooling rack or in a colander for about 30 min to allow the salt to bring out all the bitter juices.  Rinse the salt and pooled juices from each slice and squeeze the excess water by gently pressing them between your palms, and then pat dry with a towel.

Eggplant Parmesan with Fresh Tomato Sauce
Serves 6.  30-40 min cooking time.

• 2 medium eggplants (about 2lbs), peeled if desired, and sliced into 1/2" rounds (slicing on the diagonal makes for a larger cutlet, and is especially nice when you reach the narrow neck of the eggplant)
• 1 1/2 c dried bread crumbs (preferably homemade)
• 1 1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tsp Italian seasoning
• few pinches of salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 large eggs
• 2 Tbs water
• 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling 
• Fresh Tomato Sauce (recipe follows)
• 1 13-14 oz pkg spaghetti, fettuccine, or linguine pasta 
• Grated Parmesan or torn pieces of fresh mozzarella for topping

Preheat the oven to 400 F.

On each of 2 15x10 jelly roll pans, spread 1 tsp olive oil with a pastry brush.  

In a shallow bowl, combine the bread crumbs, Parmesan, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper.  In another shallow bowl, blend together the eggs and water with a fork so there are no gloopy chunks.  

Dip each slice of eggplant into the egg mixture, turning to coat.  Shake off the excess egg and dredge the slice in the Parmesan mixture (use your hands to add more, if necessary).  Place each slice of eggplant on the prepared baking sheets.  When all the slices are coated, slowly drizzle a little olive oil over the tops of the prepared eggplant (about 1/2 tsp per slice).  It should look like this when you are done:

Place the sheets in the preheated oven for 20-25 min, turn the slices and bake another 20-25 minutes or until lightly golden.

• Meanwhile, get your pasta pot and tomato sauce going.  Prepare the pasta according to package instructions.  The sauce only takes about 5 minutes, so plan accordingly so everything is finished at the same time.

Fresh Tomato Sauce

• 3-4 large tomatoes (about 2 lbs), diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
• few pinches of salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 c chopped fresh basil leaves (loosely packed)
• 1 Tbs balsamic vinegar

In a 12 inch skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat.  Saute the garlic for about a minute.  Add the diced tomatoes and juice, salt and pepper, and stir.  Reduce the heat and allow the tomato mixture to simmer uncovered about 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add in the basil and balsamic vinegar.  Stir well and remove from heat.  *If you are not ready to use the sauce right away, cover, leaving a vent, to keep warm.

Divide the pasta between 6 plates.  Top with 3-4 eggplant parmesan slices and a big spoonful of the sauce.  Top with either more grated Parmesan or with torn pieces of fresh mozzarella.

Vegetarian Lasagna

Lasagna is one of those dishes that doesn't adhere to seasons.  It's also very forgiving when it comes to ingredients as long as the cheeses and the sauce are right.  My absolute favorite lasagna is a mushroom, roasted red pepper and spinach concoction with layers of provolone, mozzarella, cottage and parmesan; it's great in the summer, fabulous in the winter and it rocks the next day.  With this lasagna, fresh, frozen, dried, or jarred works every single time, regardless of what you have on hand.  Except the cheese.  The mozzarella must be fresh.  But doesn't mozzarella always need to be fresh?  If you are still buying the sort-of-soft-but-mostly-hard block of mozzarella, please stop.  If you are still buying it already shredded, you may actually kill me.

Choose a good, hearty, flavorful sauce for this lasagna.  It's the primary source of the herb flavors here, and I have found that when I need to rely on a commercial sauce, the flavors just aren't as bold as I'd like them to be for this dish.  Just to be safe, you might consider jazzing up a jarred marinara with some dried basil or oregano.

Vegetarian Lasagna

• 9 uncooked whole wheat lasagna noodles
• 1 24-28oz meatless marinara (either homemade or a good, organic basil and tomato is great)
• 2 large portobello mushroom caps (about 6-8oz), chopped
• 1 12oz jar roasted red peppers, drained, patted dry, and chopped (or your own roasted, in which case you would use 2 peppers)
• 1 10oz pkg frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• 2 cups cottage cheese
• 3/4 c grated parmesan cheese, divided
• 2 tsp Italian Seasoning
• 1/4 tsp salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 2 c shredded provolone cheese
• 1 c shredded fresh mozzarella
• 1 tsp dried oregano (or 1Tbs freshly chopped)

Preheat oven to 350F.

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• In a bowl, combine mushrooms, roasted red peppers, and spinach. In another bowl, combine cottage cheese, 1/2 c paremesan, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. In another bowl, combine the provolone and mozzarella cheeses.

In a 13x9 pan, spread 1/4 of the marinara sauce. Layer 3 uncooked noodles, 1/3 vegetable mixture, 1/3 cottage cheese mixture, 1/3 provolone/mozzarella mixture, 1/4 marinara. Repeat layers. Top with remaining 1/4 c parmesan and oregano.

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• Cover with foil. Bake 45 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand 15 minutes before slicing.  
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• Serve with a simple salad, crusty bread smeared with roasted garlic, and a lovely bottle of wine.
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