A number of weeks ago, I decided to put to good use two items I possessed in abundance: basil and eggplant. The basil was fresh from my massive basil plant (which was later uprooted by an unscrupulous garden thief) and the eggplant was purchased in a fire sale at the local farmer's market. My usual eggplant preparations are either roasted with garlic and oil, blended into a smoky babaganoush, or fried into oblivion as part of a rich eggplant parm. I zeroed in on eggplant parm but felt that the fried version would capture neither the warmth of the season nor the freshness of its produce. Plus, deep fried eggplant covered in pesto sounded like overkill.
Baking seemed like the obvious route. But how to protect against mushiness? The answer, dear reader, is of course Panko. Lightly oiled and then covered in the Japanese breadcrumb helped me to achieve a crisp lightness found only in the most delicate of tempuras. Lacking large quantities of cheese, I opted to sprinkle sparingly with a good quality parmigiano-reggiano.
And the pièce de résistance? Pesto. My version was highly non-traditional and combined a ton of fresh basil with enough oil to prevent the blended mixture from becoming completely emulsified. To give it the nutty richness of a more traditional pesto, I added some almonds to the mix. No cheese was added to the sauce, however.
On top of the eggplant foundation, I dolloped pesto and then covered with plum tomatoes, which were then liberally sprinkled with salt and pepper.
Another layer of eggplant, pesto, tomato was then added on top, before being covered in Panko, cheese, and a liberal douse of olive oil.
The end result was crisp and light but also rich from the smooth combination of roasted eggplant, olive oil, and pesto. Twas a meal fit for a Don. Check it.
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