This post had so many potential titles–Deep Purple, Heart of Darkness, Purple Monster–all inspired by this week’s recipe of Simple Eggplant Parmesan, and the challenge of photographing dark eggplants.  My favorite was from the great American writer Annie Proulx, who once depicted a character’s nocturnal torment as a “descent into an aubergine nightmare.” An aubergine nightmare.  How good is that!

On the other hand, not exactly the title to lure people into food blog.

To business.  If you have a devoted southern Italian grandmother who makes you Melanzane alla Parmigiana stop reading now.  Eggplant Parmesan has long been a favorite, but as an investment in time and effort it’s on a par with reshingling your own roof–you accomplish a Herculean task and feel a deep sense of satisfaction, but in the absence of a southern Italian grandmother, know that it’s going to be awhile until you do that again.*

Which is too bad.

Herewith an alternative that preserves the staggeringly good flavor of Eggplant Parmesan while reducing the dish to its fundamentals–eggplant, basic tomato sauce, two cheeses–without turning it into a meal for the Michelin Man.  And no complicated layering, breading or frying.  Of course there are the usual fellow travelers–garlic, shallots, fresh herbs, S&P, but you get the picture.  This recipe sidesteps the danger of morphing your eggplant into an EVOO sponge by letting it steam lightly, in a covered pan with some safflower oil instead of deep-frying it.

I recommend you make the Simple Tomato Sauce recipe we’ve included–it’s light, uncomplicated and fast–or you can reach for a jar of your own and make the preparation even simpler.

If you use a commercial sauce, opt for for a lighter, marinara style.  Eggplant = subtle flavor  =  easily overwhelmed.  Another tip: don’t slice fresh mozzarella until you’re ready to use it.  Sliced mozzarella hemorrhages liquid and if it sits before broiling the result will be more Rubbermaid drain cover than molten unctuousness (guess how I know this).  Enjoy.  Ken

*If you want to take up the gauntlet and do the traditional thing, here’s a great recipe from Gourmandistan.

Left: just put in the pan. Right: after cooking 3 minutes covered with the lid.

Shallots and garlic caramelizing in the pan.

Plain, with caramelized shallots and garlic, plus mozzarella, after broiling.

After broiling.

Jody Notes:

In my cooking classes the question of whether to salt eggplant always comes up.  I don’t salt.  There are two main rationales for salting: 

• To remove bitterness.  In my experience fresh eggplant isn’t bitter.  Or perhaps I should say is no longer bitter.  I never salted small or Japanese eggplant, and these days large globe eggplants are no longer bitter.   
• To remove moisture.  Eggplant is a natural natural sponge for oil.  Salting might theoretically make sense–salting removes moisture; less moisture equals less sponginess equals less absorption.  But in a side by side comparison in my kitchen I could see and taste no difference between the batch I salted and let sit for half an hour and the batch I simply cooked after slicing it.  I suspect other factors, like the kind of oil and the temperature of the pan when the eggplant is added might make a difference.  I like sautéing eggplant in safflower oil because it has a higher smoking point than extra virgin oil oil.  With a hotter pan it’s easier to get a sear than at the lower temperature required when using evoo.  Would I salt if I were sautéing eggplant in evoo?  To be honest I probably wouldn’t.