September may be here, but don’t even talk to me about pumpkin spice. Not when my summer garden is still going strong. There is plenty of time to still enjoy the masses of veggies still being produced, and one of those is eggplant. 🍆🍆🍆

“Whaaat?” you might say, if you’ve never tried cooking with eggplant. I find it a bit discouraging when I offer and someone truly asks, “But what do you do with it?” Well, I could probably write a cookbook with about 500 recipes but I will offer up just one of my most amazing ones here. Please note―I am not a recipe developer but merely an inspirer. 😊

Eggplant Parmigiana

This is not a quick and simple recipe. This is one of those dishes that cannot be skimped on, if you want it to turn out died-and-gone-to heaven good. With a little extra work, it is worth every step, beginning with the most important part of this divine dish―the sauce. And really, a vegetable as beautiful and sublime as the eggplant deserves the regal treatment.

I make my own marinara with tomatoes from my garden, by just cooking them down and reducing the liquid. You can peel them ahead of time by blanching or just whirl them in the food processor to chop those peels down to an unnoticeable size. Of course, the sauce can be made ahead, and sometimes I just pull a container of leftover sauce out of the freezer. I begin with a healthy layer of extra virgin olive oil to sauté onions, bell and Italian long peppers, and one or two hot peppers, and a bulb of garlic. 🍅🧅🧄🫑

Next, I add the Italian herbs, fresh or dry, depending upon how motivated I am―basil, rosemary, oregano, parsley, thyme, and savory. When the veggies are transparent, I toss in the tomatoes—about six cups of fresh, quartered, colander drained, or frozen tomatoes. It only takes about 30 minutes to cook down. About half way through, I pour in a goodly splash of red wine. This is a good time to taste and add salt and pepper. The thicker, the better on the sauce, but if it’s too chunky, I’ll give it a whirl with the immersion blender. 🌿🍃🌱

Some people salt the eggplant first to remove the water but I generally don’t bother with this step, as I’ve never found it to be necessary. I start with two medium-sized eggplant, fresh out of the garden, sliced on the thickest setting of my mandolin. Two eggs and about a cup of homemade, seasoned breadcrumbs will cover two medium, sliced eggplant.

Some recipes still use the original method of frying the breaded eggplant. But since I am only half Italian, I bake it. It is definitely easier and the eggplant slices come out more uniformly done and crispy, with less chance of burning. The key here is to use plenty of olive oil on the baking sheet so that, as it bakes, the oil can be seen sizzling. It needs about 20 minutes at 400º and should be flipped once in the middle. I bake the end slices, too, for snacking on while assembling. 👩🏻‍🍳🥘🍽

The golden-brown eggplant gets single-layered in the bottom of a 9×13” baking dish. Some like to put a layer of sauce on the bottom, but I like my eggplant less soggy. Besides, when they’re done this way, they can be picked up and eaten like a sandwich. I layer them like stacks instead of filling the dish, so that they are individual servings. Each slice gets just a dollop of sauce, so that the eggplant is not overpowered and the edges stay peaking out and crispy. A generous sprinkle of fresh grated Parmesan, goes on each slice, until the stacks are three high. The last eggplant on top gets a thick slice of mozzarella instead of Parmesan.🧀🧀🧀

Back into the 400º oven they go, for another 10 to 15 minutes, or until the cheese is melty and just beginning to brown in spots. The anticipation here is almost palpable, as I pull them from the oven and lay them on the chopping block. However, I do realize that, if allowed to cool just a bit, the flavors will have set, and you won’t end up with dreaded cat-tongue. A chiffonade of fresh basil sprinkled on top at this point adds flavor, as well as aesthetic appeal. 🌿🍃🌱

This is also a great recipe for my vegetarian friends and could even be prepared vegan with your choice of substitute eggs and cheese. My mom made this one time when my cousin came to visit and we all thought it hilarious that she assumed the whole time that she was eating chicken or some kind of meat. She was not vegan or vegetarian but the look on her face when we confessed after the meal was priceless. She actually said, “Whaaaat?” But then, naturally, she was hooked on eggplant for life.😋😋😋

Tortue du Soleil Update

Besides being available on Amazon, Tortue du Soleil is also available at Capital Books downtown Sacramento, K Street, as well as Tom’s Used Book Store downtown Lodi. I am working on a collaboration with a new book store opening in Ripon and will post more info as we figure it out. And I have some very exciting news—it will soon be available in the airport on Tahiti where the stories take place. 💙🌴🐢☀️

If you receive my email post, you are the first ones to get this news—Tortue du Soleil will soon be available on eBook on all digital platforms. Yaaayyy! So much going on!

I hope you are enjoying Tortue du Soleil, and will remember to leave a review on Amazon. You can leave a review without having purchased the book there and every review helps to keep the sales going and the books in stock.

Got a question or comment? Leave me a message here or on my contact page—I’d love to hear from you!

Have a great September!

S.E. Filomeo