Eggplant Parmesan

I'm finally reaping the benefits of all my hard work in the garden this summer.  The hours that I spent standing in the hot sun watering vegetables and pulling weeds is all worth it when I start to harvest vegetables.

Yesterday, I picked eggplants from the garden and made eggplant Parmesan  Then I collected dozens of green beans for a yummy side dish.  All I needed to do was add some fresh bread to our dinner and we had a delicious garden- inspired meal. 

Eggplant Parmesan
salt and pepper
2 small eggplant, peeled and sliced
1/4 cup flour
canola oil
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic
14 ounce can diced tomatoes
1/4 cup water
2 Tablespoons tomato paste
1/4 cup fresh basil
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Place eggplant slices on paper towel lined baking sheets.  Sprinkle with salt and let stand 1 hour.

Heat 2 T. oil in skillet.  Add onion and cook until tender. 

Add garlic, tomatoes, tomato paste and water and cook 10 minutes. 

Add fresh basil and simmer sauce 10-20 minutes. 

Transfer sauce to a blender and process until smooth. 

Heat oil in skillet.  Pat eggplant dry and dredge in flour. 

Add a few Tablespoons of water to skillet at a time and cook eggplant in batches until softened on each side.

Spoon a small amount of sauce into the bottom of a baking pan.  (I used 2 small pans but you could use a nine inch square pan.)

Top with half of the eggplant. 

Season eggplant with salt and pepper.  Top with a sprinkling of Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses.

Repeat layers.  Sauce - eggplant - cheese.

Bake 45 minutes at 350.

Enjoy.

The first vegetables that we picked from the garden this summer were cucumbers and tomatoes.  A month or so after that, we started to harvest green beans and eggplant.  Now I'm anxiously awaiting the ripening of the watermelon and carrots in the garden. 

Ciao!

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