Eggplant Happiness

Eggplant.  Hmmm.  I wanted nice crispy, crunchy fried eggplant.  I also wanted the warm, flavorful bowl of ratatouille.  Or, maybe I’d do some mushroom pesto with the fried eggplant.  We have oodles of basil so pesto was a great option.  On to eatyourbooks to no avail.  You know what comes next…  I made up a recipe.  Not quite sure what to call it because it had so many pieces and parts! 

Here’s what I did:  I peeled the eggplant and sliced it into four planks.  Then, I put a couple of eggs in a bowl and whisked them with a fork.  Into another bowl I put a big handful of panko and a big handful of coarsely grated asiago cheese.

Then, I picked a big handful of basil.  Half of it got julienned and half went into the bullet. 

A big handful of pine nuts went into a dry skillet to brown.

A big skillet went on the stove with a good glug of olive oil.  Into that went two portobello mushroom caps, half a big zucchini, half a big yellow squash, half a red onion, one of the end pieces of eggplant and about 10 cherry tomatoes.  Everything got diced about ¼” to ½”.  When it got too dry, I poured in some water.  The julienned basil went in too along with a handful of capers and a couple of cloves of garlic finely minced.

Half the pine nuts went into the bullet along with an equal measure of coarsely grated asiago, a small pour of olive oil and a tablespoon of melted butter.  That all became pesto. 

The eggplant planks got dunked in the egg wash then the panko/cheese mixture and plopped into a skillet with sizzling olive oil.  Those got sautéed until the exteriors were golden and crunchy and the interiors were creamy.  If you stick a fork into uncooked eggplant it’ll resist.  When it’s done it’s like putting a fork into custard.  No resistance.  Now, as I cooked the eggplant some of the panko/cheese mixture fell off and became a lovely crunchie.  I scarfed it up and had an ah-ha moment.  Pour the rest into the skillet!  I did and drizzled it with olive oil.  Those became lovely golden crunchies!

Time to put the dish together.  Eggplant plank on the plate.  Topped with the ratatouille.  Then, the rest of the toasted pine nuts, the crunchies, the pesto and finally some more coarsely shredded asiago.   (Can't get this one rightside up!)

We rated this a five out of five. It does use up pretty much every dish and skillet in the kitchen and isn’t a quick dish.  But, it’s SO worth it!