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ScatteredRose -> RE: Soup & Desserts? - Split Pea Soup with Vegetables (1/23/2012 12:04:02 PM)
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Yaaay!
Okay.
So, for all you vegetarians out there, I got a wonderful dish~
Eggplant Parmesan á la Rena~
1 Eggplant
1.5 lb of Mozzarella cheese (already grated. I recommend Kraft)
4 lb jar of Tomato sauce (For what I found works best is Prego...but once I mixed Ragu and Prego and it turned out well!)
2 eggs
Italian Bread Crumbs
Garlic Powder
Cooking Oil
An Oven-safe casserole pan
A frying pan
A small mixing bowl
Large plate
Parmesan cheese
First you should prep the kitchen. Get a large plate and cover it with bread crumbs. You might want to put a few paper towels under the plate, for easier cleanup. Then, get your mixing bowl and crack the eggs into them and mix them, as if you were making scrambled eggs. Then, you wash the eggplant (I'd recommend a kind of big one for this) and finely slice it into rounds. Make sure all the rounds are EVEN. If some are a little off, that is okay. Meaning when you cut it, it should look like a circle. You shouldn't use the end that has the green plant at the end of it. Take your frying pan and just cover the bottom of the pan with cooking oil. Turn the heat on medium. Take your slices of eggplant and, at one at a time, dip them in egg until they are covered, and roll them in the bread crumbs. When they are complete, if the oil appears to be hot enough, put the covered eggplant slices in the oil, and let them brown. When all the eggplant slices are brown, it's safe to put them on a separate plate until you need them. They don't have to cook all the way, but having them browned is a good sign. You can also tell if they're a little bit squishy.
Now this is where it gets fun.
Preheat your oven to about...350. If your oven gets REALLY hot, try 325 to be safe. Get your jar of tomato sauce and poor it slightly on the casserole pan. Just enough to cover the bottom. Then you take your cooked eggplant and lay out a row. When a row is completed, take your sauce, lay another layer of tomato sauce on top of your eggplants, and then add a small layer of mozzarella cheese. Then lay out another layer of eggplants, and repeat the steps until you are out of eggplant.
Now, you should still have some cheese left (hopefully if you were sparing with your layers.) Lay out the rest of the cheese, to your liking. If you want a lot, go crazy, I tend to. After that, sprinkle some garlic on top of the cheese, to add some flavor. I put a medium amount, since I love garlic.
Your oven should be warm enough now. Wrap the top of your pan in tinfoil, (to avoid messes in your oven). Put the dish in the oven and time a timer for a five minute check. You don't want to cook the eggplant, since that was what the browning was for. You mainly want to heat the sauce and melt the cheese.
For my oven, this takes about...10-15 minutes. It could vary depending on how powerful your oven, and how high or low you set it.
When the cheese is completely melted, and the sauce appears to bubble, you can take it out. Take the tinfoil off and sprinkle as much Parmesan as desired on top. For serving purposes, it is better to let others apply the amount of Parmesan, or if any!
If you are prepping this as a party dish, before the sauce bubbles and the cheese is starting to melt, turn the oven off and let it sit for a few minutes. Not longer then 10 though!
And voilá! You have eggplant Parmesan.
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