More to eggplant than meets the eye.

It’s very easy when leafing through the pages of a cookbook or foodie magazine, to simply skip over those recipes that don’t look appealing. Either the image is a little ordinary looking or perhaps there is no image included at all. Well, I urge you to resist the inclination to do so because you are in fact missing out on wonderful home cooking ideas and opportunities. Take the time to read through the ingredients or have a closer look at the meal immortalised on the page. Become an advantageous eater and innovative home cook and seek out ways to add pizzazz to everyday family dishes.

Not all mouth-watering meals actually look magnificent when photographed. Take this evening’s dish of Eggplant Parmigiana. Ordinary to look at but wow, fantastic flavours! The sharp, smoky eggplant is softened by the creamy mascapone, and the layers of ingredients sprinkled with herbs and drizzled passata manage to create a very satisfying diner. I resisted the urge to lick my plate. This recipe is from one of my favourite chefs, Karen Martini from her latest cookbook called The Karen Martini Collection. The only change I made to her original recipe was to substitute dried oregano for the fresh oregano sprigs and basil leaves. Put this cookbook on your Christmas list.

Eggplant Parmigiana Serves 6

Step 1) 
2 large eggplants peeled to create a stripy appearance, then cut into 5 mm rounds
3/4 cup plain flour
3 eggs beaten with 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 cups dried breadcrumbs
350 ml olive oil

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees fan forced. Dust the eggplant pieces first in the flour, then dip into the egg mixture and finally the breadcrumbs. Fry in batches the heated olive oil for 1 minute on each side. Remove and drain on paper towels. 

Step 2)
200 g mascapone
3/4 cup grated parmesan
4 small anchovies finely chopped

Combine all of these ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.

Step 3) 
1 litre tomato passata
1/4 cup grated parmesan
sea salt and pepper to taste
10 – 12 slices fontina (this is a sharp tasting, cow’s milk cheese)

Spread a thin layer of passata onto the bottom of your baking dish. Sprinkle with parmesan. Top with a layer of the prepared eggplant. Dollop over the mascapone/anchovy mixture. Repeat this layering process until all your ingredients have been used, making sure you finish with a layer of eggplant, then passata and the fontina cheese. 

Cover with aluminium foil and bake for 25 minutes. Then, remove the foil and bake for another 10 – 15 minutes until the top is golden and bubbling and glorious.