It is funny how habits and preferences change as I am getting older (not old yet). When I was a kid I could not stand taste of milk for the life of me. I felt it had an awful odor and taste. My poor mother desperately trying to entice me to drink it, even promised to pay me. I still remember the pay off rate was 2 Dinars to drink a cup. Although the money part seemed rather appealing, I just could not do it. The same routine was repeated daily. I would reluctantly go to the kitchen where my cup of milk was waiting for me. Holding my nose I would take a sip, gag, and then quickly pour the rest of the cup down to the kitchen sink drain. Understandably my mother did not know about this, and I did not have choice but to keep taking my 2 Dinar payoff. How else would I have kept my secret going?
Now let’s contrast that with my habits just a few years later, about the time I was in a high school and then all the way through the university. I was guzzling about 3 liters of cold, raw milk per day! That was a litre per meal, and I just could not have enough of it! I loved everything about it; its tangy sweet flavor, refreshing smell, everything!
It was no different with several other dishes. For example soup would sit in my plate long enough, that a fat layer would start forming around the edges. I would just end up pushing my spoon around the plate, waiting for something, I am not sure for what. Perhaps hoping the soup would just magically disappear in front of me. I used to think that when I grow up and live on my own I will never eat soups, who in right mind would do that? Well guess what, I love soups today.
Eggplant was not my favorite until I got older either. I used to find it unappealing, kind of slimy, something similar the way my kids react to it now. Unsurprisingly, I love eggplants now. There are not that many recipes for them but those few that I know are great and I really love them. In one of my previous posts I presented an Italian classic Sicilian Stuffed Eggplant and today it will be a Moldavian Eggplant Parmesan. This outstandingly tasty dish recipe is the creation of chef Greg Easter. Most Eggplant Parmesan recipes have eggplants heavily breaded and the dish frequently leaves the impression of a gummy cheese overload, swimming in a pool of tomato sauce. But this recipe is flavorful, tasty, and light!
Unknown to the average home cook, Moldova is one of the places where the finest tasting eggplants in the world are grown. That is the reason why the accent of this dish is put in the eggplant taste.
Another big difference from other commonly found Eggplant Parmesan recipes, is that here eggplant is coated without any bread or egg and the sauce is made from braised vegetables. Combined with Parmesan cheese they together create a heavenly trio with a marvelous flavor harmony.
However, finding Moldovan eggplants at my local market is a bit of a challenge. In a meantime I am working with what I have; locally grown Ontario eggplants. I can say that the taste is wonderful! I hope to be able to test it one day with a true Moldovan variety and be able to assess the difference.
The dish is served warm, garnished with fresh chives or deep fried scallions.
| Prep Time | 1 hour |
| Cook Time | 1 hour |
| Passive Time | 1 hour |
| Servings |
servings
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- 1 large eggplant peeled and sliced in 1/4" slices
- 8 garlic cloves
- 180 g all purpose non bleached flour
- 1 tsp marjoram dried
- 2 tsp sea salt
- Parmesan cheese grated
- Mozzarela chese
- Moldavian Braised Vegetable Sauce preheated
- extra virgin olive oil for frying
Ingredients
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- Add 8 cloves of garlic to the food processor. Grind for about 10 seconds before adding the flour, dry marjoram and the sea salt to the processor. Turn the processor on for about another 15 seconds. Scrape the side walls few times with rubber spatula to make sure that everything is thoroughly processed. Transfer to a large size mixing bowl, set aside for about an hour.
- Peel the egg plants with potato peeler and slice into 1/4" thick slices. Transfer the sliced egg plant to the mixing bowl and toss gently coating them with flour mixture. Set aside and repeat tossing process every 5 minutes to build satisfactory layer of flour mixture. It will take anywhere between 20 minutes and 1 hour to complete the process. Once the slices start to feel slightly tacky and sticky to the touch, that is the stage we are looking for. We do not want to wait much longer pass this stage since that will result with very heavy coating of flour, and consequently will taste very gummy when cooked, with some raw flour that will cause indigestion. Take the eggplant out of the flour and spread them around the mixing bowl side in one layer.
- Preheat a heavy non stick pan over medium heat (6 out of 10) and add olive oil to coat the bottom. Depending on size of the pan, fry in batches of 4-5 slices at the time. It will take 8-9 minutes for each batch to get eggplants cooked nice and golden. Flip slices first time after about 3 minutes. Add more olive oil in the middle of the pan before flipping slices. We need to to keep them moist. Bake for about 3 minutes on another side and then flip once again and cook each side for 1.5 minutes more. Once golden and crisp on both sides, transfer to a clean plate.
- Take a paper towel and wipe completely the bottom of the pan clean, removing any residual flour and oil.
- Add more olive oil and repeat the process with the following batches until done.
- Preheat the oven to 200ºC (400ºF).
- Preheat the Moldavian vegetable sauce. Spoon over and coat the bottom of ceramic baking dish with the sauce. Arrange the first layer of fried eggplants on top of the sauce. Add about 1.5 tsp of grated Parmesan cheese on top of each slice. Follow with the additional tsp of sauce on top. Cover with another layer of eggplant slices and repeat the process until 3-4 stack high.
- Add 1 tsp of grated Parmesan on the last layer and top up with about 1 tbsp of sauce. Cut and add a small chunk of mozzarella cheese on top of each stack, about 1 tsp. Bake for 20-30 minutes. Serve warm.
The key process components to pay attention to while making dish are as follows:
- Avoid creating a too thick coating on the eggplants. The coating thickness depends on a length of time eggplant is kept in the seasoning.
- Depending on size of your non stick pan, cook only 3-5 eggplant slices at the time.
- Use freshly grated Parmesan cheese, there is no substitute.
- Make vegetable sauce ahead of time.
- Pre-warm braised vegetable sauce before garnishing eggplant layers.
- Use the best Mozzarella cheese you can find.
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