Eggplant Parmigiana

Sometimes, simplicity is key. A rich and hearty pasta sauce with herbs and spices sounds fantastic, but tomatoes and basil simmered together sounds even better. That is the exact sauce used for this Eggplant Parmigiana, which is also a very simple recipe. Five ingredients max and no breading or frying involved (though I really should make the real deal one day). My stack of eggplant rounds fell apart as I took it out of the pan, but no worries--still delicious.



While I really enjoyed the eggplant, I fell more in love with the sauce. So much so that I made it again just to have with pasta a couple times. Mixed in some Parmesan and sprinkled on a tiny bit of crushed oregano. I even drank up the tomato juices in the sauce which I usually don't do since it's too acidic for me. This definitely makes it into my Lazy Days recipe collection, which is happening quite often. I guess that's what I get for being unemployed in the summer, eh?



Eggplant Parmigiana [Makes 4 servings]
From Stonesoup

- 1 large onion, peeled and diced
- 2 large eggplant, sliced into rounds about 1/2 inch thick
- 2 x 400g (14oz) canned tomatoes
- 1 bunch basil, leaves picked
- 2 large handfuls freshly grated Parmesan cheese + extra to serve

1. Cook onion with a little olive oil in a saucepan over a medium heat until soft but not browned.
2. Meanwhile sprinkle eggplant layers with salt and allow to stand while the onion cooks.
3. Add tomatoes and a few basil leaves to the onion. Crush tomatoes to break up and simmer with the lid on for 30 minutes to an hour – you just want the flavours to come together – no need for the sauce to reduce. And don’t worry about seasoning it – there will be plenty of salt in the eggplant and cheese.
4. Preheat oven to 425F. Generously oil a large baking tray. Pat eggplant dry with paper towel, removing as much salt as possible. Place eggplant in a single layer on the tray (you may need 2 trays) and drizzle generously with more olive oil. Bake for 20 – 30 minutes, turning once or twice until eggplant is very soft and golden brown on both sides.
5. Place a layer of tomato sauce in a medium baking dish. Layer with eggplant slices, top with more sauce, a few basil leaves and some cheese. Repeat the layers until everything is used up finishing with a generous sprinkle of cheese. Bake for 20 – 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and everything is hot and bubbling.

Roasted Eggplant Pesto

I'm a sucker for happy endings. They-lived-happily-ever-after endings and not guess-for-yourself endings. After I finished reading I Capture the Castle, I wasn't a happy camper. Not saying you shouldn't read it because it's a very cute story and an easy read. I guess I'm just overly romantic.

Following a recipe is like reading a book sometimes. I judge a book by its cover and the summary on the back, maybe the reviews. I look at pictures of the food, then the ingredients and then read the comments that others left. As I read a book, I wonder which emotions it will bring out. I can ask myself the same questions when I scan a recipe. What will the process be like? What kind of results will it yield? Will this recipe make me sad, nostalgic, angry, or excited? (Yes, I have experienced all those emotions while cooking and I'm sure I'm not the only one!)

Traditional pesto consists of pine nuts, basil, and parmesan, but this one strays far from that. Besides the basil, nothing else is the same. Just like when I am starting a new book, I entered this recipe feeling hesitant yet excited about trying something new. I was happy that I was finally using the sun-dried tomatoes sitting in my fridge; proud that, even though pesto is so easy to make, I had actually made it; then confused about why I didn't eat this stuff when I actually was a vegetarian. What a roller coaster!

Roasted Eggplant Pesto
From FatFree Vegan Kitchen

- 1 eggplant
- 1/4 cup almonds
- 2 sun-dried tomatoes (not oil-packed)
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 cups basil leaves, lightly packed
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast

1. At least 2 hours before using (and up to overnight), place almonds in a bowl and cover completely with water. Allow to soak at room temperature. Drain water before using.
2. Preheat oven to 400F. Trim off and discard the stem end of eggplant and cut in half lengthwise. Place cut-side down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Pierce the backs of the eggplant with a fork in a few places. Bake until completely soft and somewhat collapsed, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely. This can be done ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator until ready to use.
3. Just before serving, put the almonds, sun-dried tomatoes, and garlic into food processor and pulse to chop. Peel the eggplant and add it, the basil, and the nutritional yeast to the processor and process to a coarse puree. Add salt to taste and pulse to blend.
4. Add a tablespoon to a serving of warm pasta (if the pesto is too thick to easily coat the pasta, add a little hot water to it), or use as a spread for bread or a dip for crackers or vegetables. Store in a covered container. For best color, either press a sheet of plastic wrap onto the exposed surface or spray with a light film of olive oil.



I ate it with whole wheat pasta, hence the funky color on the spaghetti. The pesto did not do that so no worries. I decided to double the recipe as I eat pesto quite often. It's such a great addition to sandwiches and pasta. I would advise you to use a little less eggplant if you plan to double. Too much of it can make the other flavors disappear. Half of the batch is sitting in the freezer; the other half in the fridge for me to eat throughout the week. I quite like this ending.

Spicy Eggplant Sauce

My sister works at a publishing company so sometimes she's able to get me some books for free. It's especially great when they are cookbooks. A lot of them are from Good Housekeeping. I love their books because they have a lot of different recipes with a picture for every one! A picture may not be a reliable source of how tasty a recipe will be, but I like seeing what it should resemble at the end. Recently, I got a vegetarian cookbook from Good Housekeeping. I probably have half the book marked with post-its! I had my eye on this Polenta with Spicy Eggplant Sauce recipe for a while and finally got to make it as I had half an eggplant left from an eggplant parmesan sandwich I made a while ago. Instead of making the polenta though, I decided to use the eggplant sauce as filling for a wrap. I used Flatout Flatbread Wraps, which, by the way, are amazing. Maybe not so much for hot fillings. My wrap idea ended up being an epic fail because the wrap got a bit soggy and couldn't hold up to the heat. But for other cold fillings such as hummus or whatnot, it's great. It is so soft and tastes so good. I don't know about the availability of these because I've only just come across them at Target, but I will definitely have to get these every time I'm there!



The original recipe serves four but I made it for two since it was just me and my sister for lunch. It also calls for 28 ounces of canned stewed tomatoes (for 4 servings), but I had spaghetti sauce that I wanted to use up so I replaced the tomatoes with that. And to make it a more protein-packed meal, I added chicken. I don't think I made too significant changes, but nevertheless tasty! I love me some eggplant.



Spicy Eggplant Sauce [Makes 2 servings]
From Vegetarian Meals by Good Housekeeping

- 1 lb eggplant
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1/8 tsp garlic powder (or 1/2 clove garlic)
- 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 boneless skinless chicken breast (diced or you can shred it with two forks after it's cooked)
- 1/2 cup spaghetti sauce

1. Dice the eggplant into 1/2-inch cubes and sprinkle with salt. Let sit for 20 minutes or so to let out bitter juices.
2. Cook the chicken breast (and shred at this point if you desire) and set aside. In the same pan chicken was cooked, add onion and garlic powder and cook until translucent on medium heat.
3. Rinse the eggplant lightly to wash off salt and add to pan. Cook with onions for 8 minutes. Add red pepper flakes (and salt, if necessary) and cook for about 1 minute.
4. Add spaghetti sauce and 1/2 cup water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and let simmer for 8 minutes. Check frequently if more water needs to be added so the sauce doesn't become too dry.
5. Remove cover and simmer for 2 more minutes so sauce thickens. Add more water if necessary, starting with 1/4 cup.