Eggplant “parm” with broccoli sauteed in browned butter and mizithra cheese
Dinner tonight. I grew up thinking that I didn’t like eggplant, in my adult life I’ve found that some of the stuff I used to hate is actually really good, so I decided to revisit eggplant. Took a few bits here and there from other peoples recipes, namely a classical approach to eggplant parm with a hint of influence from Alton Brown’s 1 minute eggplant parm. I used Japanese eggplant, purged, and sliced into strips. Sauteed in a 1/2 tablespoon of bacon drippings with lardons of bacon, garlic, heirloom cherry tomatoes, some marinara, basil, salt, and pepper. Half filled some ramekins with the mixture and topped with mozzarella, filled the rest of the way with the remainder of the mixture and topped with a blend of bread crumbs and grated Pecorino Romano then baked in an oven until golden. Served with a side of blanched broccoli tossed in browned Kerrygold butter and topped with grated mizithra.
