Eggplant stackers
I’m back in my apartment at school, which means my own kitchen, fridge, and pantry again. I share with two other girls, but hey, I’m a college kid! I know how to share living space.I bought large eggplants the other day as they didn’t have baby ones. (I prefer baby eggplant while making 烧茄子 (shao qie zi). I haven’t a clue what the English name is.) But then! They had baby ones when I went to Geagle two days ago, so hah, couldn’t resist and bought them. So what do I do with all this eggplant? Luckily, I’ve been browsing Tastespotting (god I love that site), so I came across the recipe for Eggplant Parmesan Stackers.
Due to limited time, energy, and patience, lack of materials, and general all-around laziness, I didn’t make it exactly as the original recipe details. Mine follows behind the skip.
Things I changed:
(1) Frying the eggplant - I tried it with the first batch, and I found it too oily for my taste, even after trying to pat it all dry. The eggplant soaks up way too much oil.
(2) Cheese - I don’t have all of them shiny cheeses the recipe calls for. I’m a poor college student! So Kraft 4 cheese mix it is.
(3) The tomato mix - Oh god you think I’m going to make all that from scratch and waste all that valuable tomato? I don’t think so~ Spaghetti sauce it is!
My recipe
1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
2. Wash your eggplant and then cut them into slices, about 1/4″ thick. They don’t taste as good if it’s too thick.
3. Separate the slices into stacks, so you have the slices stacked the way you want them to. This way, you won’t have stackers of all different sizes.
4. Lay the bottom slices onto a cookie sheet. Drizzle (AND I DO MEAN DRIZZLE, NOT DUMP) a little bit of EVOO on top of the slices, and then sprinkle salt on top. Sprinkle to your own discretion. I won’t tell you how much to put on, since we all like different flavors. I prefer saltier, but hey, I have no need to watch my sodium intake, and I love salty foods to begin with.
5. Use a spoon and lop some spaghetti sauce (or marinara, whatever you want) onto the slice.
6. Sprinkle some cheese on.
7. Repeat steps 4-6 for all the bottom slices. Then put the next stack level on and repeat. I recommend 3 slices per stack.
8. Stick the cookie sheet in the oven for 15 minutes. Check it at 10 minutes to make sure they’re not getting burned and is just cooking. If you think it’s not done yet at 15 minutes, try another 2 minutes or so, though mine was done at 15 minutes.
These things are pretty good with bread (I prefer whole wheat), but probably goes with pasta or rice well too.
Enjoy your eggplant~ :D