Farmer's Market + Family Recipes = Delicious

Since we moved to Massachusetts, I've gotten into the habit of going to the Farmer's Market for most of my vegetables. There's just something wonderful about buying field-grown, hand-harvested potatoes directly from the farmer, and actually having to scrub the dirt off them before I cook them because they're so fresh. It has also made me pick up some things I might pass right over in the grocery store, because we'd just never tried them before. A couple of weeks ago I sauteed some Swiss chard with dinner one night, and two nights later I shopped up the chard ribs and tossed them into a delicious pasta. Needless to say, the Farmer's Market has certainly gotten us hooked on some veggies.

Last week I picked up a couple of eggplant, not really sure what I would do with them, as that was the first time I'd ever bought eggplant. Well, today I picked up a couple more, and Eric and I decided to try our hand at one of our family recipes, eggplant parmigiana. I got the recipe from my aunt's collection of family favorites, and since no one said the recipe was a secret, I decided to make it my photo project today. It's rather time-consuming, but so delicious you won't even mind!

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Start with male eggplant. (I cannot tell you what an awkward conversation it was when my mother explained to me how to distinguish between male and female eggplant. I have not had to ask since.) Since there were no measurements for the ingredients (you know, family recipes are all done to taste!), we estimated four eggplants. We used all four and it made two 8x8 baking dishes of eggplant parmigiana.

  
Slice eggplant into rounds about 1/4" thick. These will bake, which pulls out the moisture and causes them to shrink and shrivel, so I found that erring on the side of a little too thick was best.

Place slices on an ungreased baking sheet and brush with olive oil. Place in oven heated to 400^o. Cook for 12-15 minutes.

 

Remove the trays from the oven, use a spatula to flip slices over (careful, they will be soft and may want to stick to the pan!), brush other side with olive oil and bake for another 12-15 minutes. They should be brown and softened when finished.

While your eggplant is baking (since it will take a while), make a delicious savory marinara sauce. Coat the bottom of a baking dish with sauce. (I greased my baking dish with cooking spray--you can try it without if you want.) Layer eggplant on top, cover with marinara, and sprinkle with grated Romano or Parmesan cheese and a little bit of black pepper.

Continue layering sauce and eggplant, ending with sauce. Bake for about 15 minutes or until it is bubbling.
 

I topped mine with some shredded mozzarella cheese and put it back in the oven for a few minutes--just long enough for the cheese to melt.

  
TA-DA! Enjoy! It is also delicious as an open-face sandwich on a sliced baguette!


We paired with it some of our favorite wine: Grassy Creek Barbera. If you ever find yourself in North Carolina's Yadkin Valley, you should definitely add a stop at their tasting room to your list!