Eggplant Parm

I was hearing this kitchen “fact” about how it’s important to brine eggplant before cooking it.  Some say it brings out the flavor, some say it removes the bitterness, some say it makes them sweat less (so they are less watery and… have less BO… I guess), and some say they just do it because it’s what their mama taught them.

Well… my mama taught me nothing about eggplant.  So one night we decided “what the hell!” and we salted our eggplant for an hour before making it.  Honestly… I have NO idea if it made a difference.  But it tasted great so I’m going to give it a thumbs up until I can give it a head to head.

This recipe came from The Food Network.

After salting and rinsing, we then coated it in an egg and milk bath and then in a mixture of breadcrumbs, oregano, thyme, salt and pepper.  We then quickly browned them in a pan.

Next we stacked up layers of slices with marinara sauce and shredded mozzarella in a greased oven dish.

And baked it to ooey-gooey browned perfection.

I then realized that we had no tomato sauce for the pasta.  What to do?  Why not just make one?  So I set about my new “make my own sauce” recipe where i basically throw tomatoes and spices into a pot, cook it down, mash it up, and then puree it a bit with the hand mixer.  Works like a charm.

And tastes great too!

I think this was my favorite eggplant parm we’ve made.  The added seasoning to the breadcrumbs just made it that much better… and who knows? Maybe the salting isn’t a myth!