Yum. Thanks.

I use Molly Katzen's eggplant parmesan recipe from the Moosewood Cookbook - you bake the breaded slices, rather than frying them. I think you can use egg either with or instead of the milk, if desired.

I think if I were going to add ricotta, I'd put it in blobs over the top with the parmesan cheese.

Moosewood Eggplant Parmesan 8 servings

Ingredients

2 medium eggplants, about 7 inches long

¾ cup milk

2 cups fine bread crumbs or wheat germ (or a combination)

1 teaspoon basil
½ teaspoon each oregano and thyme

1 batch tomato sauce - 4-5 cups

1 pound mozzarella cheese - sliced or grated
1/2 cup parmesan cheese - approx.

Directions

Preheat oven to 375℉ (190℃).

Lightly oil a baking tray and a 9x13 inch pan.

Cut the eggplants into circles ½ inch thick.

Place the milk in a shallow bowl; combine bread crumbs and/or wheat germ with herbs on a plate.

Dip each eggplant slice in the milk, moistening both sides, then cover both sides thoroughly with the crumb mix.

Spread the prepped slices on the baking tray and pan, and bake for approximately 20 to 30 minutes (or until tender).

Remove from oven, and pile them gently on the the baking sheet.

Then, without cleaning the pan, ladle some tomato sauce into the pan and spread out over the bottom.

Add a layer of eggplant slices and cover them with more sauce.

Spread some mozzarella over the sauce, and repeat the layering process until you run out of either room or ingredients.

Sprinkle the top with lots of parmesan.

Bake uncovered for about 40 minutes, or until heated through and bubbling around the edges.

Remove from oven and let sit for about 10 minutes before serving. Serve hot or warm.

Thank, carolb.

Here is the Ag Palate recipe. I am intrigued by it and afraid it it 🤭

I really have to wonder (😮!) how that ricotta would work in it.

I came across another ricotta laden eggplant parm recipe. Just seems od. Two cups is a lotta ricotta, ain’t it?

I don't particularly like eggplant parm. For me, stab furiously all over with a fork, rub with high heat oil (just enough to be slick, put in a non-reactive pan (I use Corning pie plates) and broil not so hot that they catch fire. Turn over a time or two. When they're all charry and sunken, remove and cool enough to handle easily. Cut open and scrape out with a spoon, getting all the really good stuff right next to the skin. If the seeds are big and tough, you can remove the strings of them. The amount left should be fine. (You could sieve them but that wrecks the texture of the flesh, so figure for yourself which bothers you more). Now you have roasted eggplant, you can eat it as is, spread on vegetables or bread type things, dress with lemon juice and seasoning, or dress with garlic and whatever, or roasted red peppers, or lemon juice, garlic and techinah, or pickled halfed cherry tomatoes, or chopped roasted tomatoes, or lemon juice, garlic, techinah and a small spoon of mayonnaise, or small diced hot peppers and larger diced boiled eggs and spices, or spread on bread for a sandwich, or on toast instead of butter, or mix with chopped roasted nuts and serve in the center of an avocado half, or just stand there and eat it all up before the rest of the household get their hands on it.

Or, if you want to use the ricotta, let it weep in a strainer or cheesecloth. Add lemon juice, seasoning/herbs and maybe something a little sweet, if you like, to the cheese. Slice the eggplant into slabs, lightly oil, and roast on parchment until they're very brown and the edges are starting to char. Cut strips of peppers, onions, zucchini, and soften/weep in a dry cast iron pan. When the eggplant is ready, smear with ricotta, add the vegetable mix to one end, roll up and secure. If you prefer more zing, drizzle with a little citrus or sesame vinaigrette.

Baba ganoush also includes tahini. I've been working on perfecting it since the pandemic began, tweaking it to see if I can come close to that at a favorite Persian restaurant. You might want to start with this:

Epic Baba Ganoush

I also add a drop or two of LIquid Smoke.

There is a Vietnamese restaurant a few miles away. One of their appetizers is called something like ”crispy eggplant” and I could dine on it daily. I have tried to freplicate it several times. Nope.

3/4 inch cubes of eggplant, crunchy on the outside, soft and creamy on the inside. Seasoned and served on fresh crisp lettuce.

I’ve though of applying for a job, but it is a small family owned place, and I have no qualifications other than my appetite. And, besides, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a non-like Asian working in East Asian restaurants. I gather they hire kin or by word of mouth.

The texture odf those eggplant cubes is fantastic. Maybe a sort of carmelized rice flour coating. Heavenly.

Looks a bit like this.

maybe like Marion’s, but easy on or skip the honey sauce.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0rBBzKSLDw

Of course, my problem with this is the calories and sodium ;-)

I overlooked mentioning that our homemade tomato sauce (from high quality canned tomatoes) is highly seasoned - garlic, oregano, a little basil, and, depending on its destination, some beef or sausage. No meat typically added for eggplant.

We don't add ricotta to eggplant dishes.

I'm most definitely not a strong cook, but I do make eggplant parmesan from time to time, and I also bake the eggplant slices first. I was so happy to learn that it worked instead of frying. It's so much easier to bake. ( I use mozzarella cheese)

We keep it simpler here (I'm lazy ;-). As others have mentioned we'll slice the eggplant into 3/4" "steaks", brush on olive oil & spices (let marinate in ziplock baggie for 2 hours) then grill on BBQ rack just like a steak while flipping over 3-4 times until tender.

I like a good eggplant, but over my lifetime of buying and growing, I have experienced a fact that they vary greatly in taste and texture. Another option for a cheesy eggplant dish is to make "eggplant roll ups." You roll the sliced eggplant around the filling, top with sauce and bake. You have to heat somehow to soften though, first.

I am a dead lazy cook. I just make ratatouille or stir fry it and add it to pasta with tomato sauce. Dollop of ricotta and parm on top. Eggplant parmesean deconstructed.

I haven’t tried the Silver Palate recipe but all their books have been great sources for me for years. I would definitely roast vs fry the eggplant.

ETA - Was thinking of this old, favorite sauce from the Silver Palate. If it appeals, you could add some roasted or grilled eggplant.

Pasta Sauce Raphael

2 jars (6 oz. each) marinated artichoke hearts in oil
¼ cup olive oil
2 cups chopped onions
2 T. minced garlic
½ tsp. dried oregano
½ tsp. dried basil
1 T. coarsely ground black pepper (or to taste; I use a generous 1 tsp.)
½ tsp. salt
Pinch of dried red pepper flakes
1 can (28 oz.) plum tomatoes, with their juice
¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
¼ cup chopped Italian parsley

Drain artichoke hearts, reserving the marinade.
Heat olive oil in large saucepan. Add onions, garlic, oregano, basil, black pepper, salt, red pepper flakes and reserve artichoke marinade. Saute over medium-low heat until onions and garlic are soft and translucent, about 10 minutes.
Add tomatoes and simmer for 30 minutes.
Add artichoke hearts, Parmesan, and parsley. Stir gently, and simmer another 5 minutes.

FWIW, I prefer breaded to unbreaded eggplant slices for eggplant parmesan.

I make eggplant lasagna using roasted eggplant rounds or lengthwise slices in place of lasagna noodles. Almost always with ricotta rather than a bechamel.

Yikes, guys. I did notnget to make it yet, I hope the3 eggplant is stiill good. I think I will bread/coat the EP (eggplant). I will probably don the oven baking thang or at lerast a non-stick pan anf limit the oil.

I tend not to PEEL things as I like the roughage (fiber) and perhaps more antioxidants and vitamins. I can deal with a bit of bitter. Hmm. Ar you folks all heavy peelers?

I will use a riobustly season sauce as Elmer does. When I make marinar, I add a smashed cloved of fresh garlic (extra than the first garlic) towarss the end — gi e it a truw garlic flavor ;-)

Gorgeous weather. Who wants to cook??!!

Something else to keep in mind is what's called Japanese eggplant. I'm not sure if that's a widely used name or not. It's a small veggie (with a diameter more akin to a cucumber) commonly used in Asian cooking. They seem a bit more flavorful than a standard eggplant, or at least the flavor may be a bit more dense. They should be usable interchangeably with the standard type with any eggplant preparation. They are delicious.

Japanese or Chinese eggplant are my favorite! I love eggplant with a spicy garlic sauce.

https://steamykitchen.com/30476-chinese-eggplant-recipe-spicy-garlic-sauce.html

Garlic is perfect with these. Just had a flavorful Thai preparation last night.

No need to peel! A lot of the best flavor is right next to the skin. The bitterness is in the white, whien it's undercooked, but that's one of those things you have to have the genes for, and some people can't perceive it.

IMPE, bitterness is a variable with eggplant - growing conditions can be a factor.

And I bake the breaded slices on a parchment lined baking sheet. I do drizzle a bit of olive over them too - I'm not averse to fats.

Love the Japanese EP right on the grill with a final sprinkle of Parm (or you can spread a little ricotta)

Eggplant parm....bread the slices then air fry! Nice and crispy! top with sauce and cheese! Yum!

I also make a stovetop ratatuule with EP, zuk, onion, tomatoes, garlic etc on the stovetop. Yum!

The ricotta mix stuff absolutely DOES work with the eggplant parm. It's the way i had it way before that cook book came out. Pretty much loke a lasagna but with eggplant instead of noodles. Very Yummy.

I love eggplant, simply floured and fried!

I thawed a container of "mystery reddish stuff" the other day...it was ratatoulli....what a nice surprise!

You all have made me hungry for Eggplant Parm. I found a beautiful eggplant at TJs yesterday and will make some for my supper.

Elmer, I love Japanese and Chinese Eggplants. Not only do they taste good, but they also grow really well here in our climate. I prefer to grow the Chinese Shikou which is larger around than Japanese Ting Tao; but either will do.

RANTY Rant, skip if you want preety pleasant fare.

Can you believe it has not seen the oven yet?! I have plagued by fatigue, pain,too much to do (and I want to do), a DH that seems very slow, tuned out, not all there?.

I got up on the wrong side of the bed yesterday. Or was ir the day before.

Made the tomato sauce. Maybe I should have just made my fast simple marinara. Prepped the eggplant. I fixed the hummingbird feeder, fed the wild tom turkey. Had big plans. Had to nag DH to try to get in ”gear” before 2PM. LOTS to do. Big house, tons of upkeep.

Crashed at around 5pm Dh put the atuff away. The eggplant looked a tad dry and had frozena bit. Fridge is way too small for a person who like preparing all sorts of foods.

This morning, again, I could not get the slow moving sweetie pie DH to get out of my office (kitchen and 1st floor, and get moving/working. Ready to scream. I wanted him to tack the buckwagon and go to town to get stain blocker and exterior primer that he forgot to get two days ago. Our house is deteriorating, he seems oblivious. I was ready to ask a drone to drop a bomb on the place. /sarc.

He finally left, but came back into the house for his keys. I wanted tonoven bake eggplant. We have at least 4-6 cooking sheet. None to be found. Really. DH will shop, make coffee, cook a chickenn, but is not inclined to pick up STUFF, even his stuff, nor clean or put things away. He will laod unload dishwasher, put coffee making gear away, Clean one sink and part of a counter.

Before he left to get 2 pints of paint (noon!!), I asked him to pretty please bring up from the cellar feidge the raw eggplant slices and the tomato sauce from yesterday. (I have crunch knees — just another reason I want to move. MMOOVVEE.

His little errand took over 2 hours. I had to cook eggplant in nonstick pan on stovetop. Could not find the tomato sauce. I even went ti

o cellar fridge. Not there. He doesn’t answer text or phone. I’m reay to send detectives after him and to toss eggplant out.

FINALLY, past 2 PM. Oh, duh. He put the tomato sauce in two opaque yogurt contaoiners. Did not let me know. (on any given day, there are 4-5 yogurt like containers in kitchen fridge — yourt, cottage cheese, sour cream, devil goat curds, jellyfish brains, body parts…./sarc.

It is 3:15 PM I am not the happy person I was when I woke up this morning. I am in a three legged race (living life) tied to someone who seems to get one dippy errand done a day.

I have lost my notivation to cook thw eggplant or do anything except run away.

Two days ago when he was bogging along, chewing up another cool, crisp sunny dry day,, not geytting out of my way or workspace until well past noon, I suggested he run the last 3 weeks of errands he’d been putting off. (he got back at 9 PM!!!). I suggested he stop at a pasta place and buy a $45 tray of salty, fatty lasagna or equivalent. Easier than my tripping over him to cook numerous meals, plan work, clean and the multritude of house and yard work. I’m frustrated. I might have to put some of my pulled out hair into the eggplant parm,

So THIS is why peoiple buy the frozen stuff or from a jar.

Sorry to rant. I am exhausted, in pain and live with a somnolent turtle in a house that is disintegrating. Paint missing off trim and windowsills. The man has no clue, no grasp. The pin house trim not painted for decades or two. Huh??

I will now begin to finish making cooking the EP. I will try to drive to where I can walk. Maybe I will buy a one way ticket to a sunny shore.

(Guess I wil, have to buy yet more cooking sheets. Maybe there are tractor or boat mor car parts soaking in solvent on those tat used to be in the kitchen.

(((((HUGS)))))

Thanks, plllog.

I put the EPP in oven. I made a hybrid recipe. I think I used too large a pan. I wish I’d had mre eggplant. We like all sorts of food and enjoy leftovers. I like variety, even w leftovers, whereas I think the DH can (like a table saw), go though meal “A” until finished. Twice is okay withme but then I need a break.

Pan toasted eggplant slices — panko, crushed a bit more, and seasonings. Because I was (for the pan size) short of EP, I dipped rounds in beaten egg, then in seasoned panko.

I couldn’t ”shred” the soft white mozzarella, so cut it into small blocks. I used dollops of fresh, white ricotta on the EP rounds. Layered sauce, eggplant, cheeses, bit of chipped flat leaf parsley., more sauce. alternating layers.

One of my goals in meal preparation, aside from healthful ingredients is to make enough so that I am not glued to the kitchen and can get other things done and not order take out (which usually has more salt & fat and carbs than I want.

It is in the oven now, 375 deg F, timer set at 30 mins.

Before baking.

Other things wanted to cook and do: Deskwork, business call, Rhubarb pie or tart, hummus. Clean. Maybe get on ladder and (with sort arm and shoulder and feet) scrape, prime and paint the second floor window sills — bare wood, weathering, peel paint) prep and paint the bare sills. Long long time without any paint. Insanity.

All your comments and suggestions have been so helpful. Funny, I guess I’ve made spag meatballs, lasagne, but missed EP Parmesan. I’ve gravitated to East Asian cuisine.

I may have to follow Victorian Beckham — fish and vegetables.

PS Finished. Tastes very good. I wish we had some good bread.

Looks very good! Spread out is better than multiple layers, IMPE.

Hope it comes out OK.

FWIW, one of my personal axioms is that my mind can conceive of way more than my body can ever accomplish.

Agree, carolb!

Looks delicious!

I love eggplant, it's hard to find up here, and it has a short shelf life, is often brown inside :(

I was thinking of posting my favorite but hesitated because it doesn't use ricotta, it uses milk and I wouldn't hesitate to put in ricotta instead of or along with milk but it would change the custard texture. Anyway, found it online, here it is now for looking at next time

https://app.ckbk.com/recipe/simp42203c05s001r019/eggplant-custard

I appreciated your rant, feels similar to my experiences.

Enjoy the food and leftovers!

((((P)))) . Sorry to hear about your bad days... BTDT. I don't meant to put my hand in your pocket, but can you hire the painting work done? (I worry about you on a ladder. )

I'm sorry you're in pain and struggling. Sending hugs.

I married into an Italian/American family and after seeing them fry those endless eggplant cutlets in buckets of oil and make such a big frying mess, I decided to do them in the oven, instead.

Those pans of resulting eggplant parm were heavy and they were filled with oil.

So, I found a way to do almost any cutlet in the oven.

Simple thing taht I do is to render it into slices howver it pleases you, about 1/2" thick, or so.

Dunk them into a dunk of beaten egg and a bit of buttemilk then dredge them into a plate with good quality breadcrumbs, some organo and a good dose of grated cheese and I love black pepper. Lay them on a baking sheet drizzled with olive oil and shake more olive oil across the top and bake for about 20 minutes, or so until the breading is nice and baked. The entire vegetalbe may still be a bit underdone, depending, but it will cook when you assemble it with the sauce and whatever it is that you are going to do with it. It is good just as it is without the sauce and the baking, if you want.

I do the same with any vegetable or meat cutlet .Pork chops done this way are so nicley cooked because the breading keeps all of the moist in the meat and the breading adds a nice tooth and taste.

I make bread crumbs from my home made bread, but if you dont have that, use a good non sweet bread such as the grocery bakery baguette. Those crumbs in a can are just awful, in my opinion. I make my own crumbs, some large and soft and some fine. Both textures have thier best use. I prefer to use a larger and softer crumb for thick cutlets. My preference.

When I have left over dunk and dredge, I cut up onions, mix it all up and layer it beside the cutlets. Drizzle it with olive oil. This way you can us a good quality olive oil because, unlike the frying method, you are using less and it is more upfront as a flavor delight. It is more delicate than the utility oil that may have been used for frying. Anyone who has ever fried eggplant knows what an oil sponge it can be!

As an aside, for decorating felafel, slice a smaller eggplant thinly, let weep, then freeze. Drop in the deep hot oil frozen (use a spatter screen), and pull them out immediatly when they look done (crisp outside, not brown). They should puff up and get a little crunchy, and tender inside, not oily. Delicious! If you're already deep frying...

Just posting this since I came across it a couple days ago.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CsgtLu5MVfp/?hl=en

I've been on an Asian eggplant kick lately trying different recipes. Tonight I hit a winner.

I omitted the onion. Sautéed the eggplant first, then added the garlic and chili pepper (serrano) and only used about 1/2 cup Thai basil.

https://www.thaicookbook.tv/thai-recipes/one-dish-meals/spicy-stir-fried-eggplant/

i follow a low carb diet, so i forgo the bread crumbs and just bake the EP in the oven. i peel, don't like the skin, place on parchement paper, drizzle with avocado oil, S&P, and roast. EVOO can be "sticky" and does not like a higher heat. avocado and other oils are better for baking, IMO

i make a marinara gravy.

layer gravy, EP and mozzarella and i do some ricotta, we like that addition. sprinkle with locatelli cheese and bake in the oven.

the Fam likes it better without the breadcrumbs. i think that makes the flavor of the EP shine through.