The PBS star Mary Ann Esposito recently caused a little bit of controversy over at the Huffington Post when she published a recipe entitled, "The Real Eggplant Parmigiano." Amongst the comments on the post, some readers accused Mary Ann of pushing an Italian-American version of Eggplant Parmigiano and using an inauthentic cooking oil, like peanut oil (to say the least, the recipe got under the skin of certain individuals; I'm actually wondering why the Huffington Post is publishing articles on food and recipes <talk about being off-brand>). One reader went on to state that Eggplant Parmigiano probably didn't exist in parts of Italy (especially Southern Italy) until the late 1970's when Parmigiano Reggiano started becoming readily available.
Nevertheless, I can only comment on the versions of eggplant parmigiano I'm accustomed to and neither of the recipes have a fried eggplant component which include flouring the eggplant slices prior to frying (per Mary Ann).
The first eggplant dish I would label "eggplant parmigiano" is made by simply grilling slices of eggplant and layering with the cooked slices with olive oil, chopped parsley, and grated Parmigiano Reggiano (no baking, frying, or tomato sauce) - click here for the full recipe. The second dish is the focus of this post and is best made with "mini-eggplant" or small Italian eggplant (basically smaller versions of the large generic eggplant found in most markets). The dish is fairly straightforward and begins by cutting the mini-eggplant in half (length wise) and roasting at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 20-35 or until the interior flesh of the eggplant is nice and soft. Prior to placing the eggplant in the over, each length should be brushed with olive oil and sprinkled with plenty of kosher salt and black pepper. After removing the eggplant from the oven, you can laddle a bit of tomato sauce over the halved lengths, along with grated Parmigiano Reggiano. Thereafter, place the eggplant back in the oven for a few more minutes or until the cheese has melted and, presto, you have a simple baked eggplant or eggplant parmigiano dish (without any drying or masking of eggplant flavor).
Italian
