Eggplant Parmesan - Melanzane alla Parmigiana

Eggplant Parmesan (Aubergine Parmigiana) is something I most often make in the same way I make Chicken Parmesan, which is wonderful, but once in a while I'm in the mood for a sort of lasagne-like, casserole-style version. As you might expect, I've streamlined it!

For this style, I skip the breading. I don't even dredge the eggplant slices in flour. And, of course, I skip the laborious salting and draining and blotting dry that is supposed to remove the bitterness because I've never had a bitter eggplant in my entire life. And I skip the frying because it makes such a mess and does nothing for the texture of this dish. 

You know I can't resist painting the groceries!

If I had to pick one "must" it would be: Slice the eggplant (aubergine) 1/4 inch (6 mm) thick, the perfect thickness to give the proper texture. Also, cut lengthwise slices rather than rounds to give structure to the dish. That, along with going easy on the sauce, will make tidy layers that will slice into neat squares rather than spoonable blobs. 

Meant to be served warm, not hot—some people even serve it cold—it must rest for 25 or 30 minutes before slicing and serving, which also contributes to its holding its shape rather than collapsing on the plate.

I hope you'll try it soon and let me know how you liked it and if my directions need any clarification.

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Eggplant Parmesan - Aubergine Parmigiana

(Makes 4 to 6 servings)

The Sauce

(Makes about 3 cups, more than you need)

1 28-ounce can fire roasted crushed tomatoes

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon basil

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon parsley flakes

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

The Eggplant

2 pounds eggplant

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

The Cheese

1/2 pound (8 ounces/227 grams) thinly sliced or shredded mozzarella

2/3 cup medium grated (2 ounces/57 grams) parmesan

1 In a 2-quart saucepan, bring the ingredients to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer (visibly bubbling), loosely covered, for 1 hour, stirring occasionally, to reduce and thicken. Pour it into a 4-cup glass measure to cool while proceeding with recipe and to see how much sauce you have. If you have more than 2 1/4 cups, save the extra for another use; if you have less, add water to make 2 1/4 cups or just use a little less sauce in each layer. The dish isn't supposed to be too saucy.


2 Preheat oven to 450F/230C/Gas8. Line two half sheet pans with parchment paper. Spread 1 tablespoon of olive oil over each parchment. Wash, but do not peel, the eggplants. Peel back the calyx (the green tops) of the eggplants, cut off just the minimum at the top and a bit off the bottom so that they can stand, and slice the standing eggplants lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Or you can square off the sides just a bit and make the slices with the eggplants on their sides, if that's easier.


3 Place on baking sheets in single layer, but crowding a bit is fine. Brush with remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for 10 minutes. Check them. Rotate the baking sheets top to bottom and front to back. Bake until the slices are quite dried, perhaps browned, but not burnt, checking in a few minutes. The slices will not need turning and baking on the other side unless you've cut them thicker.


4 Reduce heat to 375F/190C/Gas5. Lightly oil or butter, or spray with cooking spray, an 8x8x2-inch baking dish. Assemble: Spread 1/4 cup of sauce in the dish. Then make 4 layers of a fourth of the eggplant, 1/2 cup sauce, about a fourth of the mozzarella, about a fourth of the parmesan. Bake for abut 25 to 30 minutes. Let stand for 25 to 30 minutes before slicing and serving.


Disclosure: We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon .com and affiliated sites, earning a small commission at no cost to you on purchases made through our links. This helps cover some of the costs of running the blog. Thank you for your support.

Jean

Pumpkin Pie - Tips for a Crisper Crust

Pumpkin Pie is a year-round favorite of mine that tastes especially good at this time of year. But you're probably thinking, Oh my, not another pumpkin pie recipe—boring! More than a recipe, this post is about something that just might solve a problem for you as it did for me. 

Many pumpkin pies have problems, including the "soggy bottom" problem. I know a well-spiced pumpkin pie tastes pretty good even with a soggy bottom. I've conquered the problem in the past by prebaking the pie shell. But some days I just don't feel like prebaking and cooling a crust before filling and baking the pie. How about you?

Pyrex glass pie plates have been my go-to pie pans for decades and will, I'm sure, continue to be most of the time. But I was on a quest to see if there was a way to make a pumpkin pie with a nice crisp crust without prebaking the pie shell as I did here in my Pumpkin Pie - Gluten-Free or Regular Crust - No Soggy Bottoms post.

The only way I could think of was to bake the pie on a thoroughly preheated pizza stone/steel. And you can't set a cold Pyrex pie plate on a hot pizza stone/steel without risking disaster, so I started checking out all the possibilities and eventually decided to try Fat Daddio's 18-gauge anodized aluminum pie pans.

I have quite a collection Fat Daddio's anodized aluminum cake and loose-bottomed cheesecake pans and love them. So when I decided it was high time I took another look at metal pie pans, they were on my list. (BTW, this post is not sponsored; I'm just telling you what's new in my kitchen this month.)

But I almost ordered the wrong size because of Fat Daddio's weird way of measuring pie pans. Unlike every other company on the planet, they don't call a pan with a 9-inch top interior diameter a 9-inch pie pan! No, they have to confuse us all by including the flat rim in the measurement, which makes it a 10-inch pie pan to their way of thinking.

Anyway ... had I ordered their 9-inch, I would have gotten an 8-inch pie pan, which would be totally useless to me because I've developed all my recipes for a standard 1.5-inch depth 9-inch top interior diameter pan. So I just wanted to warn you about that. But on to the results of my rigorous research and testing: It worked!

So even if you're happy with another recipe (such as, Perfect Pumpkin Pie - Without Canned Milk), if you're interested in a crispier crust, you'll find the method in the recipe directions below. I imagine it'll work fine with any pastry or pumpkin filling recipe.

Do let me know in the comments what type of pie plate you prefer and what methods you use to avoid soggy bottoms!

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Pumpkin Pie

(Makes one 9-inch pie, 8 servings)

The Pastry 

1 1/3 dip-and-sweep cups (6.67 ounces/189 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon non-GMO baking powder
1 1/4 sticks (5 ounces/142 grams) unsalted butter, well chilled
2 tablespoons beaten egg from 1 large egg (reserve the rest)
2 tablespoons ice water

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

Additional ice water, a teaspoon at a time, if needed

The Filling

2/3 cup (4.67 ounces/132 grams) sugar

1 tablespoon non-GMO cornstarch
1 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon allspice

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

3 large eggs
1 15-ounce (425 grams) can pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling) or 1 3/4 cups pumpkin puree
1 12-ounce (355 ml) can evaporated milk

1 In medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder. With coarse grater, grate about 3/4 of the stick of butter into flour bowl. Cut the remaining butter into 1/2-inch cubes. With fingers, quickly work the grated butter into the flour until it looks like coarse crumbs. Add the cubed butter and work it into the crumbs, leaving some pieces the size of small peas.

2 In small bowl, beat together the 2 tablespoons of beaten egg, ice water, and apple cider vinegar. Sprinkle over flour mixture while stirring with large fork. Add a little more water, a teaspoon at a time, if needed.

3 Turn dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap and flatten slightly into a 5-inch round disk with smooth edges; double wrap; refrigerate for one hour or up to four days. May be frozen for up to a month; defrost, wrapped, in the refrigerator.

4 If dough is thoroughly chilled, let it stand at room temperature for 15 minutes before rolling; if it has been refrigerated for just one hour, it will likely be ready to roll. Very lightly butter a 9-inch aluminum pie pan; I usually just run the butter wrapper over it. On lightly floured surface, roll out disk to a 13-inch circle about 1/8 inch thick. Place pastry in pie plate, being careful to not stretch the dough. Leave a 1-inch overhang of dough. Crimp the edge. (Sometimes you need to chill the pastry a bit before crimping.) Flute the edge higher than usual to contain the filling. Using the reserved beaten egg, brush a light even coat of egg wash over the bottom and sides, but not the crimped edge, of the pastry. Save leftover beaten egg to add to the filling. Cover loosely and place in refrigerator for 30 minutes.

5 Meanwhile, in medium bowl (using a 2-quart glass measure makes it easy to pour the filling into the crust), whisk together sugar, cornstarch, salt, and spices. Whisk in the eggs and any leftover beaten egg from the pastry, then the pumpkin, and then the evaporated milk. Let the filling stand at room temperature for 15 minutes or so while you preheat oven to 450F/230C/Gas8 after moving an oven rack to the lowest position.

Lodge Cast Iron Pizza Pan

6a If you have a metal pie pan and a pizza stone/steel (a Lodge cast iron pizza pan fills that role for me), put it on the lowest rack and start preheating the oven as soon as you put the pie shell in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Just before baking, fill the chilled pie shell. Carefully place it on the hot pizza stone. Put on a pie crust shield to prevent the edge of the crust from over-browning (or have one standing by in case you see it start overbrowning). Bake for 20 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350F/180C/Gas4. Bake for about 30 to 40 minutes or until knife inserted midway between edge and center comes out clean or until it registers 185F/85C on an instant-read thermometer.  

6b If not using a pizza stone/steel, just before baking, set the thoroughly chilled egg-washed pie shell on a rimmed baking sheet (to catch butter drips) and pour in the filling. Put on a pie crust shield to prevent the edge of the crust from over-browning (or have one standing by in case you see it start overbrowning). Bake for 20 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350F/180C/Gas4. Bake for about 30 to 40 minutes or until knife inserted midway between edge and center comes out clean or until it registers 185F/85C on an instant-read thermometer.

7 Cool on wire rack for 2 hours, then lay a square of wax paper over the top and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. Serve with softly whipped cream. I sweetened and flavored 1 cup of heavy whipping cream with 4 teaspoons of real maple syrup and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.

Disclosure: We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon .com and affiliated sites. We are a ThermoWorks affiliate, earning a small commission at no cost to you on purchases made through our links. This helps cover some of the costs of running the blog. Thank you for your support. 

Jean