Eggclipse Parmesan

I know what you’re thinking… I wonder what eggplant parmesan would look like during a solar eclipse?  I wondered the same thing.  So, on Monday, August the 21st, at precisely 2:44 PM (Eastern Daylight Time), we here in the stew blopped a big beautiful slab of baked eggplant parmesan onto a plate, took it outside during the peak of the eclipse and photographed it.  There it is up top. 

There was a lot of media hype leading up to the event which I guess is to be expected in our media saturated country.  Don’t look directly at the sun, you’ll shoot your eye out.  Get the special glasses!  It’s better to view it in a crowd.  You’ll be changed forever.  Bring your pets inside so that they don’t freak out, look up at the sun and go blind.*  Oye.

To be honest, I was less than impressed with the eclipse.  Now it’s true we weren’t in a prime viewing area like Oregon or South Carolina, we were in New York.  But still, the New York City metro area was supposed to see a 75% solar block peaking at 2:44 PM.  It did get just a shade darker but it was no more impressive than if a cloud had come over.  The only ones that got excited were the Katydids who started to chant thinking it was dusk already but then soon recognized their error, I’m sure much to their embarrassment, and quickly shut up. 

Of course we may not have given the eclipse the proper attention.  That big old plate of eggplant parm was beckoning – and we were hungry.

Need This

1 large purple eggplant
1 – 28 ounce can of Don Pepino pizza sauce
12 ounces of shredded mozzarella or mozzarella-provolone blend
Salt
Olive oil
Ground black pepper
Dried oregano
Fennel seeds
Grated parmesan cheese

Do This

Heat your oven to 350 F.

Slice the eggplant crosswise (about 1/8 inch thick) so that you get discs.

Get out a medium size baking pan (ours was 10 inches wide x 14 inches long x 2 inches deep).  Hiss a little non-stick cooking spray into it then add a good glug of olive oil and brush it all over the bottom and inside rim the pan.

Layer the eggplant discs down in the pan overlapping them just a bit, then sprinkle them over with a little salt and pepper.  Now coat each disc with some pizza sauce – not too much! – then add a handful of the shredded cheese, distributed evenly, over top.  Shake on a good shake of oregano and sprinkle over with the fennel seeds.

Repeat the above step (in order) until you’ve used up all your eggplant.

Cover the pan with tin foil and slide it into the hot oven.  Bake covered for about 30 minutes then remove the tin foil and bake an additional 10 minutes.  Try not to burn your face off when you remove the tinfoil.  The eggplant is done when you can easily pierce it with the point of a knife with little resistance.

Let the eggplant cool (uncovered) for about 5 minutes before serving.  Serve hot with additional pizza sauce on the side and the grated parmesan cheese.

Serves 4.  My cost approx.  $ 6.97 total – about $ 1.74 per serving.

*I swear I’m not making that one up.  GMN