So many readers kept asking where my daily blog was. I was touched that so many had become daily followers of Foodolicious. So for you fellow foodies, I am back.
Warm weather is upon us finally and finally using the grill not only makes sense but feels right in this sort of weather...like it's a necessity. I have many recipes up my big sleeves revolving around the grill...but today...I am keeping you in the kitchen...it's not that hot yet...unless you live in Phoenix or Palm Springs or Saudi Arabia....but soon the grilling recipes...I promise.
Last year in my vegetable garden I grew about 20 plants of basil. The plants thrived and Basil loves to be picked because it motivates and invigorates the plants to keep putting out new branches during their growing season. I highly recommend fish emulsion to help Basil thrive. I love to make Cherry Tomato salads with Feta and Fresh Basil and Fresh Cucumbers...such a taste of summertime! What I do most with my basil though, is to make huge batches of pesto. I spoon this green heavenly paste into ice cube trays, freeze them and pop them out and using my food saver, seal them in plastic bags and have them readily available all year long in my freezer. You only need a few cubes too for so many scrumptious dishes. In place of regular tomato based sauce on pizza, to make Pesto Focaccia Bread, tossed with fresh pasta and on and on. As I mentioned before, just a small jar is so expensive off the shelves in your local markets, that your money saving endeavor growing your own Basil will thrill you and your wallets!
Just last month this simple and extremely savory idea came to me! Why not spread the pesto on individually sliced eggplant in place of fresh Basil leaves on my Eggplant Parmigiana recipe? So that is just what I did. It packed so much more flavor with the pesto enhancement that I knew I had to share it here on Foodolicious. This recipe is amazingly simple and very healthy too, in my recipe I bake the slices of eggplant which makes for a lighter fare than deep frying the eggplant as many traditional recipes call for. Nor do I do any breading. Remember not to include any additional salt in this recipe because the pesto is salty enough on its own because of the Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese. Vegetarians go cwazy for this dish too...it's one dish that doesnt cry out for meat, the eggplant is enough on it's own...(for us meat eaters that is ;-0 )
Pesto Eggplant Parmigiana
Three medium sized Eggplants - peeled and sliced into 1/4 inch thick rounds
(I favor the round white with lavender hue but any plump type will do)
2 cups Mozzarella Cheese - shredded
1 cup of Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese - shredded
1 cup pesto sauce
Your favorite Marinara Sauce
Extra virgin olive oil
Heat your oven to 350 degrees
Brush both sides of the slices of eggplant liberally with olive oil and bake them on cookie sheets until they begin to turn golden brown
In a medium sized rectangular glass baking dish,
spread out a layer of the marinara sauce
followed by a layer of eggplant, each slice spread with pesto sauce
Place a layer of the cheeses over the eggplant
Repeat the layers twice or if you want extra thick Parmigiana, use more eggplants
and a larger baking dish and make more layers making sure to finish with a layer of the cheeses
Bake at 425 degrees for 25 minutes
Note: I don't sweat my eggplant slices, as many recipes call for... frankly I don't notice any difference doing so first. It is also time consuming...this recipe is very very easy and very very tasty...you'll see...Oh! and serving this with a green salad such as the amazing salad I posted in early January http://foodolicious.blogspot.com/2011/01/wild-mamas-of-tuscany.html and a good expensive bottle of red wine will make this complete...
Buon Appetito!
Robert
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