Cooking to Save the Planet: Fried Eggplant

[longknife]

It's very hot this week in much of the U.S. Those of us who live in places like Arkansas know a thing or two about the heat, and about how to cook and eat when appetites flag due to the blast furnace the world has suddenly become, and when the desire to be in a hot kitchen succumbs to summertime torpor. As a public service to the rest of those not blessed to live in a perpetual sauna, here's my own prescription for eating well despite soaring temperatures:

I almost skipped over this. Then, I remember how my grandmother routinely prepared a similar dish and how a young pre-teen actually enjoyed and ate it. Then, when I lived on a ranch, we had eggplant growing in the garden and regularly ate it. [Haven't eaten any that I remember in the 60 years since] From Bilgrimage: Cooking to Save the Planet: Fried Eggplant

 

[Sallow]

Love eggplant.

 

[BlueGin]

My Daughter informed me that she now loves eggplant because a friends mom cooked some for dinner the last time she was invited over and it was really good. So... now I look for recipes she might like. Going to try this one this weekend after I visit the farmers market. A friend of mine posted it on Facebook.


Whole Roast Eggplant Parmigiana


Ingredients

4 small eggplants
Salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons butter
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
1 onion, halved
1 bay leaf
2 cans San Marzano tomatoes
A couple sprigs fresh thyme
1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
1 teaspoon honey or sugar, optional
Basil, a few leaves torn for sauce plus garnish
Pepper
1 1/2 to 2 pounds fresh mozzarella or fresh smoked mozzarella, sliced 1/2-inch thick
1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, a couple of handfuls
1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1/4 cup mint leaves, chopped

Preparation

Cut 6 slits into each eggplant being careful not to cut all the way through. It will look like an armadillo. Salt the flesh of the eggplant and let stand 30 minutes. Pat the moisture away with paper towels.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil, 2 turns of the pan, in a medium saucepot. Add butter and melt it into oil. Add garlic and swirl 2 minutes then spoon off a few tablespoons and moisten the panko. To the pot, add halved onion, bay, tomatoes, crushing them up a bit. Add a few sprigs thyme, stir in stock and honey or sugar, and tear in a few leaves of basil. Simmer 20 to 30 minutes. Remove thyme stems, bay and onion. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Fill the accordion folds of the eggplants with slices of mozzarella. Choose casserole dishes that leave some room around the eggplants. Divide the sauce between the casseroles, arranging 2 eggplants in each. Cover casseroles with foil and roast 20-30 minutes. Remove the foil and cook until eggplant is crispy at edges, about 20-30 minutes more.

Toss the garlic-butter panko with cheese, chopped parsley and mint. Once eggplant is crispy at edges, top with breadcrumbs, return to oven to brown, 10-15 minutes more.
Serve whole eggplant with sauce per person and garnish with a few leaves of torn basil.


Preparation video at link

Rachael Ray Show - Food - Whole Roast Eggplant Parmigiana

 

[Skull Pilot]

How is cooking eggplant going to "save the planet"?

Maybe by getting everyone to eat more fried breaded food will shorten their lifespans.

 

[Luddly Neddite]

How is cooking eggplant going to "save the planet"?

Maybe by getting everyone to eat more fried breaded food will shorten their lifespans.

Eating meat causes ore damage to the planet than anything else.

No, of course you don't believe and of course you'll say that if eating meat harms the planet, you'll be eating steak every day.

For those who are interested, read Kathy Freston and/or John Robbins (of Baskin-Robbins ... Gascinating story there.)

If you want to help save this planet, stop eating meat.

 

[Skull Pilot]

How is cooking eggplant going to "save the planet"?

Maybe by getting everyone to eat more fried breaded food will shorten their lifespans.

Eating meat causes ore damage to the planet than anything else.

No, of course you don't believe and of course you'll say that if eating meat harms the planet, you'll be eating steak every day.

For those who are interested, read Kathy Freston and/or John Robbins (of Baskin-Robbins ... Gascinating story there.)

If you want to help save this planet, stop eating meat.

Bull shit.

I eat grass fed beef and bison and game meat.

And sorry but humans are not meant to be herbivores.

 

[Mr. H.]

I used to make a decent eggplant parmigiana.
Been a while...

 

[Mr. H.]

How is cooking eggplant going to "save the planet"?

Maybe by getting everyone to eat more fried breaded food will shorten their lifespans.

Eating meat causes ore damage to the planet than anything else.

No, of course you don't believe and of course you'll say that if eating meat harms the planet, you'll be eating steak every day.

For those who are interested, read Kathy Freston and/or John Robbins (of Baskin-Robbins ... Gascinating story there.)

If you want to help save this planet, stop eating meat.

Bull shit.

I eat grass fed beef and bison and game meat.

And sorry but humans are not meant to be herbivores.

That's cool. But the huge agri-cattle mega-farms that grain-feed put a bit of a dent in the quality of the environment.

 

[Skull Pilot]

Eating meat causes ore damage to the planet than anything else.

No, of course you don't believe and of course you'll say that if eating meat harms the planet, you'll be eating steak every day.

For those who are interested, read Kathy Freston and/or John Robbins (of Baskin-Robbins ... Gascinating story there.)

If you want to help save this planet, stop eating meat.

Bull shit.

I eat grass fed beef and bison and game meat.

And sorry but humans are not meant to be herbivores.

That's cool. But the huge agri-cattle mega-farms that grain-feed put a bit of a dent in the quality of the environment.

But will they kill the planet?

Saying that the best way to "save the planet" is to go vegan is wrong.

Humans are not herbivores in fact eating meat and specifically cooked meat is one of the reasons we evolved into modern homo sapiens.

 

[editec]

Veegans are just flat out wrong.

 

[Mad Scientist]

Eating meat causes ore damage to the planet than anything else.

No, giant Feed Lots run by Big Agra are the problem.

Guess were the Sal Monela outbreaks come from? Hint: It aint Uncle Joe's Farm.

 

[Mr. H.]

Bull shit.

I eat grass fed beef and bison and game meat.

And sorry but humans are not meant to be herbivores.

That's cool. But the huge agri-cattle mega-farms that grain-feed put a bit of a dent in the quality of the environment.

But will they kill the planet?

Saying that the best way to "save the planet" is to go vegan is wrong.

Humans are not herbivores in fact eating meat and specifically cooked meat is one of the reasons we evolved into modern homo sapiens.

Vegans are in it for the health benefits (and they can be many if properly practiced), as well as for the social and moral implications. I personally don't subscribe to it, but I don't see reason to denounce their choice of eating habits.

Yeah, that "save the planet" angle is a bit goofy just like the rest of the enviro-k00ks' objectives... I like my meat treats too.

I just have an overall disdain for agriculture and its various offshoot industries such as cattle farming. Their overt polluting of air/ground/and water are basically unchecked and unencumbered by regulation, especially when compared to other industries such as oil and gas (of which I am a part). So I guess that's why I posted here in the first place - just another opportunity to shit on Ag LOL.

 

[Dot Com]

Real estate development too close to the water & pesticide run-off from farms almost killed the Chesapeake Bay UNTIL Liberals stepped in & said hold on a fucking minute. It hasn't recovered yet but it hasn't died either like it would have done if the de-regulators eusa_shhh: conservatives) had their way. Pig & chicken Farms are also major culprits in watershed area degradation (see North Carolina)

As to eggplant, I took a liking to it while seeing a hawt vegetarian girl.