Eggplant Parmesan on November 3

I bought some beautiful eggplant at the farmer’s market on Saturday just to make this dish.  I was inspired to try a different method from an article I read in one of my cooking magazines.  I peeled the eggplant, sliced it in 1/2 inch slices, salted it, let it drain, then fried it in olive oil without dredging it in flour (which was my family’s method), and finally drained it of excess oil on lots of paper towels.  I used Port Salut cheese (I didn’t have any fresh mozzarella), the good Parmigiano Reggiano from Italy, fresh basil, and fried garlic chips.  I made homemade roasted tomato sauce on Saturday, so all I had to do was thicken it up for this application.  Once assembled, the eggplant was baked at 400F for 30 minutes.  The finished dish was definitely much lighter without the flour, and we didn’t miss it as the eggplant flavor was very noticeable and delicious.

Bruce made a salad of arugula, butter lettuce, basil, spearmint, fennel, celeriac, green onions, radish, apple, garlic chips, sunflower seeds, and carrot.  The dressing was blackberry ginger and hibiscus vinaigrette and the wine was a chianti by Tiziano 2007.