Farm to Table - Eggplant Parm, Corn off the Cob, and Kale Salad
Eggplant may be one of the most underappreciated veggies around. Sadly, its not because its a bad vegetable, because it isn’t. Its a delicious vegetable. Its because most people don’t prepare it properly. There are two main things when it comes to getting eggplant right, and that’s 1) slice it THIN, very thin, and 2) cook it long enough. Admittedly, a thick slice of eggplant is pretty disgusting. Its rubbery and just down right too chewy. And under cooked eggplant just doesn’t taste right. It hasn’t cooked long enough to develop it’s flavor. I guarantee for anyone out there who says they don’t like eggplant, and you try these two techniques, you’ll change your mind. Time and time again, I’ve cooked it for my friends and family who once loathed it, and turned them into eggplant fans. So, I’m going to give you these two tips here:
1) Slice it THIN. Before we even go there, I start with pealing my eggplant. I used to leave the skin on, but I’ve come to learn, removing it gives it a more pleasant end texture. So I never leave the skin on anymore, ever, not even when I grill it. To slice it as thin as I can I use my mandolin. This ensures its not only thin, but that each slice has the same consistency. If you don’t have a mandolin, do your very best at cutting slices into 1/4 inch slices with a knife. 1/4 inch is key. Anything else gets into the yuck danger zone.
2) Cooking it long enough. For eggplant parm, when you’ve sliced it thin enough, when following any eggplant parm recipe, that pretty much takes care of itself. Times and temps will vary for other dishes depending on how the eggplant is cut or cooked (roasted, grilled, baked…). So how do you know when its cooked long enough? My rule of thumb is this: If the eggplant is hard when you stick a fork in it, it’s under cooked. If it hasn’t turned color (still pretty pale and light like when you first cut into it) its under cooked. When its cooked long enough, your eggplant should be A) incredibly tender when stuck with a fork. There should be no resistance, and the eggplant may even feel a little mushy. And B) your eggplant should turn some kind of color. For roasted, grilled, or baked eggplant, it should at least look browned. I actually prefer cooking mine long enough to char it to where it’s almost blackened. That’s how I like it, and I LOVE eggplant, but as long as it’s browned you should be good.
Tonight’s dinner was really exciting to me, because for each serving you see on the plate, we grew everything in the garden. From the eggplant, to the corn off the cob, to the kale, our little garden provided it all!
TAKEAWAY: Eggplant is good. It’s actually delicious. Give it another try. You might surprise yourself.
Recipe for Eggplant Parmesan:
Ingredients:
2 large eggplants, peeled and sliced into 1/4 inch slices
Olive oil, lots of it to fry your eggplant in
4 eggs, beaten (more if needed)
1-2 cups breadcrumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Salt, to season
2 jars (24 ounce) Rao’s Homemade Marinara Sauce, or homemade sauce of your own
1-2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
fresh basil, 12 leaves
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Sprinkle both sides of the eggplant slices with salt.
Set up dredging stations in shallow bowls: One bowl with the beaten eggs, and a second bowl with all of the breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese (mixed well together).
Pour enough olive oil in the bottom of a large skillet to cover the bottom. Heat oil over medium heat.
Dredge both sides of the eggplant slices, first in the beaten eggs, then in the breadcrumb/Parmesan cheese mixture. Add them to the hot oil and cook until crisp and nicely golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Flip and cook until other side is browned, another 2-3 minutes. Remove slices carefully and move to a plate or cooling rack. Cover with paper towels. Repeat with the remaining eggplant slices until all are fried. You will very likely need to keep adding oil as you go. Don’t let the skillet get dry. The eggplant will burn and not cook properly.
Assemble your eggplant: Spread a thin layer of sauce over the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch casserole dish. Next add a layer of eggplant. Next add a layer of sauce. Next add a layer of shredded mozzarella cheese. Repeat with remaining ingredients in that order, making sure to end your top layer with the cheese.
Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 35 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes before cutting into to serve. Add basil leaves on top before serving.
Recipe for Corn off the Cob:
Ingredients:
6 ears corn on the cob, husks and silk removed
2-3 tablespoons sugar
butter, to taste, I use real, no imitation
salt, to taste
freshly ground pepper, to taste
Directions:
Fill a large pot about 3/4 full of water and bring to a boil. Stir in sugar until its dissolved. Place ears of corn into boiling water, cover the pot, and turn off the heat. Let the corn cook in the hot water until tender, about 10 minutes. When done, drain and let cool. When the cobs are cool enough to touch, cut the corn off the cob with a sharp knife. Stir in butter, salt, and freshly ground pepper to taste.
Recipe for Kale Salad:
Ingredients:
1 bunch of fresh kale, washed and pat dry
salt, a pinch for massaging, and a little more to taste
dried cranberries, desired amount
sliced almonds, desired amount
2 1/4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 lemon, quartered
freshly ground black pepper
Directions:
Cut the fibrous stem off each kale leaf. Discard the stems. Cut up the leaves into bite size pieces.
Place them in bowl and add a pinch of salt to the bowl. Pour a 1/4 teaspoon amount of olive in your hand and massage the leaves with the salt until the leaves turn to a darker more vibrant green, about 5 minutes. That’s right, get in there! It sounds silly, but give them a good rub. This is what makes a good tasting kale. It takes it from a strong, sturdy, bitter leaf to a tender, sweeter, much more palatable leaf.
Combine the kale with the dried cranberries and sliced almonds in a bowl.
Make a quick dressing by squeezing the juice of all four lemon wedges into a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Slowly whisk in the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil until well combined. Add as much of the dressing to the salad that you’d like.
