There’s a really famous Italian restaurant in New York City called Rao’s. They have been there for over 100 years, and only have 12 tables. It’s very, very hard to get a reservation because the families that have reservations have them each week, and pass them down to their kin. So I’ve never eaten there. But I have eaten their food, because I have their fabulous cookbook.
They have a great recipe for veal parmesan, but my wife is vegetarian, so I can’t make it that often. What I can regularly make is a vegetarian riff on their recipe using eggplant. And oh boy is it fabulous. Here’s how I make it. (The full recipe is at the bottom.)
Peel two eggplants. You can use either the purple globe eggplants or the Asian variety. When you peel them, they will oxidize and turn brown, but don’t worry about that. No one will see it in the final dish.
Now it’s time to cut the eggplant. The first consideration is shape. You have two options. The first is to cut them lengthwise into long strips. Depending on how your eggplant is shaped, you could have rather fat slices, about the size of a fileted fish. If you cut them crosswise, you will have slices only as wide as the eggplant is thick. Think about your final dish and how the shape of the eggplant will sit on the plate, and decide how large a piece you want. Then slice accordingly.
The second consideration is thickness. You also have options. In general, the thicker the slice, the longer you have to cook it to cook the eggplant through. Because you will be frying in oil, time can lead to overcooking, and burning the eggplant. The thinnest I like to go is about ¼ inch. The thickest I like to go is about ½ inch. If you cut the eggplant lengthwise, keep it to ¼ inch thick. If you cut the eggplant crosswise, you can go up to ½ inch thick.
The method of cutting also provides you options. The first is with a knife. I like a straight bladed, sharp chef’s knife. The second method is to use a mandolin. That is a flat plastic apparatus with a straight and very sharp metal blade. They run about $20 at the cooking store, and can be used for cutting any vegetable into various shapes and sizes. (They come with different blades, which makes salad making fun, and is a great tool for making French fries!)
Once the eggplants are cut, it’s time to make the dipping bowls for frying. This can be a difficult thing to do because we are trying to make a thing mostly made of water (eggplant) nice and crispy on the outside. But we can trick the eggplant into getting a crispy coat by the following method. Start with three bowls or deep dishes. I use wide Pyrex bowls that are about three inches deep and are long enough to fit a slice laying flat. When you do the breading process, you will go one piece at a time, and immediately drop it into your pan full of hot oil.
Your first bowl is for flour. Plain, white flour. The flour sticks to the wet eggplant and makes it dry. I put about an inch of flour in the dish, and I usually have flour left over at the end. (Throw it away in the trash at the end. Don’t run water in that bowl, or you will make glue. It’s hard to get rid of that, and it makes me worry that it will clog the sink, so I throw that flour in the trash.) Add 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper to the flour.
The second bowl is for an egg mixture that will make the third bowl’s coating stick. Mix five whole eggs with a fork. Add in ½ cup grated parmesan cheese—you don’t have to use expensive stuff here. I use the inexpensive parmesan cheese that you can find in the can at the grocery store. (We call that “shaky cheese.” I use nicer parmesan as a finishing step.) Add in ¼ cup of Italian seasoning. I use a no-salt variety. If you don’t have any Italian seasoning, then make a ¼ cup mix of your own from equal parts chopped or ground oregano, rosemary and thyme. You want it ground into small pieces so that it really coats the eggplant. Mix that bowl really well with a fork.
The third bowl is for seasoned breadcrumbs. I buy seasoned Italian breadcrumbs from the grocery store, but if you only have plain, you can add in ¼ cup or so of Italian seasoning. You will want the bowl about two inches thick, and you may need to add more breadcrumbs as you go. If you are adding in plain breadcrumbs, be sure to add in enough Italian seasoning to make them as flavored as before.
Here’s how to do the breading process.
Turn on your oven to its lowest temperature. (My oven goes as low as 170 degrees on its “warming” function.) Pull out your favorite 9×13” pan and set it next to your stove. You will fill it with fried eggplant slices and top them with cheese, placing that pan in the oven to keep them hot before serving.
The frying will be done in a pan. (I use my favorite straights-sided cast iron pan. It’s about 12” wide and 2” deep. ) Heat up a heavy-bottomed pan with about 1/3 inch of oil in the bottom. I use canola oil. You could use olive oil, but that can give it a heavy flavor, and is probably an unnecessarily expensive use of olive oil. If you like the flavor of olive oil, you could use mostly canola oil, and add in a few glugs of olive oil for flavor.
Pick one hand and use it through the coating process. Or, use both hands and wash your hands a lot. This gets very messy. Take a slice of eggplant and lay it in the bowl of flour. Get the eggplant slice fully coated in flour and then tap it on the side of the dish to knock off any excess flour.
Place the floured eggplant slice into the egg mixture and flip it over so that it is fully coated with egg. Pull it up and let it drip for a second or two, to let any extra egg fall back into the egg mixture.
Lay the egg dipped eggplant slice into the Italian breadcrumbs bowl, then turn it over to coat the other side. If you are using thick eggplant slices, you will want to roll the slides in the breadcrumbs as well.
Carefully place the slice in the hot oil, and continue breading slices of eggplant and placing into the hot oil until the pan is full. I cook one pan at a time, so that I can check the oil level after each pan is cooked and add more if needed.
Cook the slices about three minutes on the first side. Then using tongs, lift up one end and check on how golden the coating looks. If you turn it too early, the coating may fall off, so just take a careful peek. Flip them over to the other side when they are golden brown. When both sides are golden brown, pull them off to the 9×13” pan.
Cover the slices with grated parmesan cheese (this is the time to use your good stuff), and then cover with mozzarella cheese. You can use hand-pulled mozzarella if you wish, or can just use shredded mozzarella sold in a bag at the grocery store. I like to serve the dish with a double stack of eggplant on each dish, so I make a double stack of cheese-covered eggplants in the warming dish. Sometimes I triple stack.
To serve, swipe each plate with a spoonful of marinara sauce using the bottom of a spoon. Place a stack of eggplant on each plate over the marinara, and then top with more gratings of your good parmesan cheese and torn fresh basil. If you only have dry basil in the house, don’t use it. Serve by itself or alongside spaghetti and marinara sauce.
Here’s what it looks like if you cut the eggplant lengthwise.
- 2 eggplants
- 2 cups flour
- 5 eggs
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese (You don’t have to use expensive stuff here. I use the inexpensive parmesan cheese that you can find in the can at the grocery store. We call that “shaky cheese.” I use nicer parmesan as a finishing step.)
- ¼ cup Italian seasoning. I use a no-salt variety. If you don’t have any Italian seasoning, then make a ¼ cup mix of your own from equal parts chopped or ground oregano, rosemary and thyme. You want it ground into small pieces so that it really coats the eggplant.
- 1 large can Italian breadcrumbs. I buy seasoned Italian breadcrumbs from the grocery store, but if you only have plain, you can add in ¼ cup or so of Italian seasoning. You will want the bowl about two inches thick, and you may need to add more breadcrumbs as you go. If you are adding in plain breadcrumbs, be sure to add in enough Italian seasoning to make them as flavored as before.
- Canola oil (You could use olive oil, but that can give it a heavy flavor, and is probably an unnecessarily expensive use of olive oil. If you like the flavor of olive oil, use could use mostly canola oil, and add in a few glugs of olive oil for flavor.)
- Salt and Pepper
- Peel two eggplants. You can use either the purple globe eggplants or the Asian variety. When you peel them, they will oxidize and turn brown, but don’t worry about that. No one will see it in the final dish.
- Now it’s time to cut the eggplant. The first consideration is shape. You have two options. The first is to cut them lengthwise into long strips. Depending on how your eggplant is shaped, you could have rather fat slices, about the size of a fileted fish. If you cut them crosswise, you will have slices only as wide as the eggplant is thick. Think about your final dish and how the shape of the eggplant will sit on the plate, and decide how large a piece you want. Then slice accordingly.
- The second consideration is thickness. You also have options. In general, the thicker the slice, the longer you have to cook it to cook the eggplant through. Because you will be frying in oil, time can lead to overcooking, and burning the eggplant. The thinnest I like to go is about ¼ inch. The thickest I like to go is about ½ inch. If you cut the eggplant lengthwise, keep it to ¼ inch thick. If you cut the eggplant crosswise, you can go up to ½ inch thick.
- The method of cutting also provides you options. The first is with a knife. I like a straight bladed, sharp chef’s knife. The second method is to use a mandolin.
- Once the eggplants are cut, it’s time to make the dipping bowls for frying. This is a difficult thing to do because we are trying to make a wet thing nice and crispy on the outside. That’s difficult because eggplants are mostly water. But we can trick the eggplant into getting a crispy coat by the following method: you will need three bowls or deep dishes. I use wide Pyrex bowls that are about three inches deep and are long enough to fit a slice laying flat. When you do the breading process, you will do this one piece at a time, and immediately drop it into your pan full of hot oil.
- Your first bowl is for flour. Plain, white flour. The flour sticks to the wet eggplant and makes it dry. I put about an inch of flour in the dish, and I usually have flour left over at the end. (Throw it away in the trash at the end. Don’t run water in that bowl, or you will make glue. It’s hard to get rid of that, and it makes me worry that it will clog the sink, so I throw that flour in the trash.) Add 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper to the flour.
- The second bowl is for an egg mixture that will make the third bowl’s coating stick. Mix five whole eggs with a fork. Add in ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
- Add in ¼ cup of Italian seasoning.
- Mix that bowl really well with a fork.
- The third dish is for the seasoned breadcrumbs.
- Turn on your oven to its lowest temperature. (My oven goes as low as 170 degrees on its “warming” function.) Pull out your favorite 9x13” pan and set it next to your stove. You will fill it with fried eggplant slices and top them with cheese, placing that pan in the oven to keep them hot before serving.
- The frying will be done in a pan. (I use my favorite straights-sided cast iron pan. It’s about 12” wide and 2” deep. ) Heat up a heavy-bottomed pan with about ⅓ inch of oil in the bottom. I use canola oil.
- Pick one hand and use it through the coating process. Or, use both hands and wash your hands a lot. This gets very messy. Take a slice of eggplant and lay it in the bowl of flour. Get the eggplant slice fully coated in flour and then tap it on the side of the dish to knock off any excess flour.
- Place the floured eggplant slice into the egg mixture and flip it over so that it is fully coated with egg. Pull it up and let it drip for a second or two, to let any extra egg fall back into the egg mixture.
- Lay the egg dipped eggplant slice into the Italian breadcrumbs bowl, then turn it over to coat the other side. If you are using thick eggplant slices, you will want to roll the slides in the breadcrumbs as well.
- Carefully place the slice in the hot oil, and continue breading slices of eggplant and placing into the hot oil until the pan is full. I cook one pan at a time, so that I can check the oil level after each pan is cooked and add more if needed.
- Cook the slices about three minutes on the first side. Then using tongs, lift up one end and check on how golden the coating looks. If you turn it too early, the coating may fall off, so just take a careful peek. Flip them over to the other side when they are golden brown. When both sides are golden brown, pull them off to the 9x13” pan.
- Cover the slices with grated parmesan cheese (this is the time to use your good stuff), and then cover with mozzarella cheese. You can use hand-pulled mozzarella if you wish, or can just use shredded mozzarella sold in a bag at the grocery store. I like to serve the dish with a double stack of eggplant on each dish, so I make a double stack of cheese-covered eggplants in the warming dish. Sometimes I triple stack.
- To serve, swipe each plate with a spoonful of marinara sauce using the bottom of a spoon. Place a stack of eggplant on each plate over the marinara, and then top with more gratings of your good parmesan cheese and torn fresh basil. If you only have dry basil in the house, don’t use it. Serve by itself or alongside spaghetti and marinara sauce.
Leave a Reply