OK I am excited

[Barbde]

Working on an eggplant parmesan sorta thing. Added a layer of pepperoni and ricotta/mozzarella/parm layer, and of course sauce and topped off with mozzarella and parm. MMMM I can't wait to eat!!
Everyone else is having spaghetti, can you imagine??? HOW BORING IS THAT!!

[Heidi3]

YUM I am hoping for pictures???? or just save me a plate would you I will be right over!!! :nod

[NulloModo]

That sounds delicious. Pepperoni and cheese can make almost any dish irresistable .

[2big4mysize]

so how was it?

Did you salt your eggplant first? what kind did you use? Did you fry it before or just put it in raw?

[Barbde]

so how was it?

Did you salt your eggplant first? what kind did you use? Did you fry it before or just put it in raw?

It was great! Salted the eggplant and let it drain. I put it in raw. Very tasty. I had thought about adding some spinach, but then forgot about it. Next time! LOL. I have leftovers for lunch this week! Woohoo!

[Heidi3]

I never salt eggplant why do you do that? ensive

[Barbde]

every recipe i ever saw said to salt eggplant and rinse it. supposed to make it not bitter i think? draws all kinds of dark liquid from the eggplant?

[Heidi3]

sounds like a waste of time to me...but then that is mho!!!!

[Barbde]

LOL!!
Call 1-800-MY-MIL and tell HER that!!

[not2late]

LOL!!
Call 1-800-MY-MIL and tell HER that!!

[LindaJay]

I don't salt anymore! DH has high blood pressure, so we don't salt anything -- every time I salted the eggplant, enough salt soaked in that it made the dish too salty. Now I just lay the slices on paper towels, then put more paper towels on top, then weight them down (my pizza stone works great!) - that drains (squishes!) some of the excess moisture out. At least the end result isn't so salty that we can't eat it! I tell ya, when you don't eat very much salt, a little goes a long way! The last box of salt I bought lasted us about five years!

[ana]

Hey Barb, I never salt mine...I do brush it with olive oil and grill it on the george forman before layering it with all the goodies. MMM so good I should make that this week! thanks for the idea once again...my hats off to ya!

[MotherOfGizmo]

I never salt mine either. I slice it and put it right in raw when I use it for "lasagna" and it always comes out yummy! :yes

[lotusblossom1966]

My mom made the BEST spaghetti sauce, using pork chops, chicken breast, chuck roast pieces, you name it. It cooked all day and the whole house smelled like sauce. I still make her sauce (in much smaller batches), but don't put in the sugar like she used to.

I use eggplant layered like lasagne too. When I was little my mom used to slice it and fry it, then layer it with leftover sauce and refrigerate it overnight. We ate it cold in a sandwich - which I know sounds a little weird....but it was wonderful. Now, I make it and still it eat cold, just sans bread! :joy It reminds me so much of my parents and growing up.

She also always salted her eggplant and let in drain in a colander. Then she rinsed it and pressed it between layers of paper towels to get the bitter water out of it. I still do the same thing, although the bitterness is much less in smaller, younger eggplants. I also love caponata, an eggplant based side dish that's kind of sweet & sour. My mom used to make that and can it every year for my dad.

*sigh* ......now I have to go buy eggplant! :nod