Grilled Eggplant Parmesan
Do you remember the first time you had eggplant? My first eggplant experience was Olive Garden’s Eggplant Parmesan. I was about 16. I believe it was around that time that I ate my first artichoke (in the form of dip – does that even count?). I thought those things were so exotic and fancy because we never ate stuff like that at home. I don’t think my mom was a big fan of eggplant (or artichokes) and neither was the rest of my family. It wasn’t until I was married that I actually prepped an eggplant with my own hands.
What a strange experience that was…. peeling off the thick, shiny peel that reminded me of dolphin skin to reveal what looked and felt like a Nerf football. I seriously had my doubts that it would transform into the silky-smooth vegetable I’d had at the restaurant.
Our lovely farmer, Elizabeth, sends recipes along with the vegetables in our box and this was one of the ones she sent. I had to adapt is slightly because we don’t have a proper BBQ grill, but you can easily do this on a stove-top grill pan or under the broiler in your oven.
The only thing I would make note of in this recipe is to make sure the eggplant is cooked all the way through. Tender-crisp eggplant is not a delicious thing. (To me, anyway.) I loved this recipe, but I ended up eating the topping off of the ones that weren’t cooked completely through.
I’m working on bulking up the number of eggplant recipes I’ve got here and will be featuring eggplant and tomatoes in a CSA Wednesday post this week!
I know… it’s about time, right?
Grilled Eggplant Parmesan
Total Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients:
1/4 cup + 2 T olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium eggplant, cut lengthwise into 1/2-inch thick slices
1/2 pound plum tomatoes, thinly sliced
1/3 cup + 2 T thinly sliced fresh basil
1 1/3 cup shredded Italian cheese mix (I mixed mozzarella and fresh Romano)
2 T Italian style breadcrumbs (or almond meal to make it gluten-free)
2 T freshly grated Parmesan cheeseDirections:
Place olive oil in a small bowl and stir in the garlic. Let it sit for a few minutes to infuse while you gather the rest of the ingredients.
Place the tomatoes in a shallow bowl and drizzle with 2 T of the garlic oil. Sprinkle the basil over top. In a separate bowl, combine the cheese mix and the breadcrumbs.
Preheat your grill (or stove-top grillpan) to medium heat. Brush one side of the eggplant slices with remaining garlic oil and place them on the hot grill. Grill for 3-5 minutes, then flip, brushing the other side with the remaining oil.
If you have a grill: Add a few of the sliced tomatoes and a pinch or two of the cheese mixture to each eggplant slice. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and cover. Grill until tomatoes and eggplant are tender and the cheese is melted, about 7 minutes. Transfer eggplant slices to plates and serve.
If you're using a stove-top grill pan: After you flip the eggplant slices over, cook them for another 5 minutes or until they are completely tender, but not mushy. Meanwhile, preheat your oven broiler. When the eggplant is cooked, transfer the slices to a baking sheet and top with tomatoes, cheese mixture, and Parmesan. Broil for 2-3 minutes until the cheese is melted and the tomatoes are tender.
Serves 2-3 adults or 2 adults and 2 children.
Nat's Note: Don't have a grill or a grill pan? Bake the eggplant slices in a 425 degree oven and flip halfway through baking.
slightly adapted from Epicurious.com via my CSA newsletter
What to serve with this? Here are some ideas:
Cannellini Beans with Garlic and Sage
Spinach Salad with Pecorino, Pine Nuts & Cranberries
Homemade Caesar Salad
Or a basic green salad with Homemade Buttermilk Dressing
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Maria — September 26, 2011 @ 2:28 pm
We love eggplant! Great recipe!
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Jerry — September 26, 2011 @ 5:35 pm
Great post thanks for sharing it :)
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Joanne — September 26, 2011 @ 5:51 pm
I've loved eggplant practically since the day I was born and I love this version of eggplant parm! It's almost like mini eggplant pizzas.
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The Food Hunter — September 26, 2011 @ 7:49 pm
Yum! now I'm craving eggplant…
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Sarah Junsay — September 26, 2011 @ 7:59 pm
A few questions Nat…(and for the record, I'm not a fan of eggplant but Joe is and I wanted to make it for him tonight).
1. Can I use the long Chinese eggplants?
2. Do I need to peel them? Joe never peels it when he cooks it– was just wondering what difference it makes.
3. If I use our outdoor grill, can I put down foil when putting on the cheese and stuff to not have a huge clean up?
4. Do the tomatoes make up for the lack of marinara sauce? (Joe says that eggplant parmesan usually has marinara).
OK, I think that's all my questions! Thanks Nat!
Oh, and I made that cookie cake for Maddox's birthday w/ Joe's family….huge hit! They loved it! Joe said that your recipes have left a huge impact on our lives! :) Love ya tons!
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Natalie — September 26, 2011 @ 8:14 pm
Sarah!
1. Yes. I would cut them on the bias so you don't end up with a million pieces.
2. In this case I wouldn't peel them. I think the skin helps hold them together while you're moving them around on the grill.
3. Sure!
4. That's one thing I went back and forth about. I think maybe having marinara to drizzle over it when its served would be good. Without it, it's kind of lacking in the ooey-gooey department, but the flavor is still really good.
I'm glad you liked the cookie cake! Tell Joe that his mandolin accident has made a huge impact on my own mandolin safety :) And I love you guys to bits!
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Kelly @ Eat Yourself Skinny — September 27, 2011 @ 12:33 am
What a great recipe, this looks delicious!! :)
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Cookin' Canuck — September 27, 2011 @ 2:28 am
This truly looks so good. What a great on Eggplant Parmesan. You photos are lovely, too.
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Natalie — September 27, 2011 @ 2:42 am
Thanks for all of your sweet comments! And thanks, Dara, for the compliment on my photos. That means a lot coming from you :)
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Budget Gourmet Mom — September 27, 2011 @ 4:20 am
That is perfectly lovely! Mouthwatering pics!
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pinksuedeshoe — September 27, 2011 @ 4:50 am
So my first eggplant experience was, um, less than stellar. But you make this look amazingly delicious. Like for reals. So, I'll try and get past the dolphin skin/nerf football (an amazingly accurate (and totally unappetizing!) description). When I read that I started laughing the big ugly laugh. I Loved it!
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Sarah Junsay — September 27, 2011 @ 4:38 pm
Thanks for your reply Nat. I made it last night and used one long Chinese eggplant. Joe took one bite and said I'd need to make more because he could gobble them up! Joe and his mom were in eggplant heaven and singing my praises!! And it didn't need the marinara…just some rice with it and yum! Thanks again!
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Natalie — September 27, 2011 @ 5:06 pm
E – "the big ugly laugh" made me laugh out loud.
Sarah – I'm glad they liked it!! Did you take a bow? ;)
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Lauren's Latest — September 27, 2011 @ 5:49 pm
This idea really is brilliant. I need my eggplant thoroughly cooked too. It's just not good raw/partially cooked. And, I think I would go the marinara route too. I'm all about the ooey gooey.
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Ann — September 28, 2011 @ 2:28 am
Natalie! This is FABULOUS! I love the way you made these! I made eggplant in todays post and they were also tougher and I'm completely with you…tender-crips and eggplant are NOT friends! Thanks for a delicious recipe!
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Karly — September 29, 2011 @ 8:20 pm
Oh, I love this recipe! It's both cute (which is totally important to me in a recipe – ha) and delicious looking!
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Mary — November 9, 2011 @ 1:50 am
Just wanted to let you know that I made this for us tonight and it was off the hook. So so good, and I bet it would be awesome with marinara too. You're the best Nat!
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