Many Italian easy dishes are made using eggplant. Eggplant used to be called mela insana or “mad apple” because people thought it caused insanity! This probably came about because eggplant and tomato are both in the nightshade family.
Eggplants come in a wide variety of colors, shapes and sizes. I love the smallish lavender variety that can be found more readily today. Since the flesh of eggplant is mild, it is a perfect to combine with cheeses and oils and herbs.
Since the flesh of the Western eggplant has more water and is a bit more bitter than Asian eggplants, it is advisable to draw out some of this bitterness by salting and draining a bit before cooking. This process is not necessary when using any of the Asian varieties.
One authentic Italian food dish that I love for it’s earthy, cheesy flavor is Eggplant au Gratin. I sometimes make this in an 8 inch pie plate and it looks so fabulous when it comes out of the oven!
This really doesn’t take long to prepare. Peel a 1 pound eggplant and cut it into cubes – about 1 inch. Toss into boiling salted water for about 5 minutes and drain well. Now heat one tablespoon of butter in a skillet and add 8 ounces of nice fresh sliced mushrooms. Sprinkle with some salt and about one teaspoon of lemon juice. You want to cook these until they are soft and they are releasing their juices. Just cook a little longer until the liquid evaporates and set the mushrooms aside.
In a saucepan, melt 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter and add1 1/2 tablespoons of flour, stirring with a whisk. Then add 1/2 cup of milk and 1/4 cup of cream – or just use 3/4 cup of half and half. Blend until smooth and add salt and pepper to your liking , about 2 or 3 more teaspoons of fresh lemon juice, 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg and a few dashes of Tabasco. Now stir in your eggplant and mushrooms. Then stir in a lightly beaten egg. Spoon all of this in a baking dish and sprinkle with a few tablespoons of breadcrumbs mixed with an equal amount of Parmesan cheese.
Bake this dish at 425 degrees for about 30 or 40 minutes and brown the top under the broiler. I hope you will try this wonderful Italian easy comfort food dish!
Would you like to see Pasta-Free Italian Eggplant rolls being made? Click here!
Mangia Bene!
