TEST KITCHEN: EGGPLANT ROSA NAPOLEAN

There are limited cultural beginnings to this dish, but there are fragments of cooking lessons spinning in my head begatting this lovely little eggplant napoleon.

- I use Rosa Sauce (by Marcella Hazan).

- I use panko crumbs, Japanese bread crumbs, to coat the eggplant, which was something my old babysitter used to used when making chicken fingers. They are crunchy and very dry. Great for absorbing sauce and flavors.

- I salt, sweat, and bake the eggplant as if I were roasting vegetables. You can fry the eggplant, but I am trying to by slim-in-oh- nine.

I think it turned out well. Very simple. You can do it with chicken too. NP - no prob.

EGGPLANT ROSA NAPOLEON (Serves 4)

SUMMARY: This is multi step because of the separate preparation of the sauce and the eggplant, assembly, and marrying of components. Salt the eggplant. Start the sauce. Bake the eggplant. Blend the sauce. Then you can bake together. The sauce is below.

WARE: A cooling rack to bake the eggplant on. If you don't have that, leave it out or fry the eggplant instead of baking it. I use the rack from my little toaster oven. It works just fine.

TOTAL TIME: 2 hrs 30 minutes; active - 1 hr, 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS

- 1 large eggplant, cut into half inch pieces
- 1/2 cup flour, or mix of flour + fine cornmeal

- 1 egg, beaten

- 1.5 C panko bread crumbs
- Olive Oil - Use something good. Eggplants are like Sponges. Garbage in, garbage out.

- 1/2 recipe Rosa Sauce

- Ac ouple ounces of cheese; I used a mix of manchego and swiss because that was what was in my fridge. Use what you want to eat. Hell, I don't care if you use kraft singles, Ming Ming. People use often use mozzarella.

1. Preheat the oven to 425F. Place eggplant on a paper towel and generously salt. this will pull out the water from the eggplant.



2. This will sit for at least 45 minutes. Flip over halfway through. You will see water being absorbed on the paper towel.



3. Mean while cut the vegis for the rosa. Saute in butter, add tomatoes and simmer.

4. After the eggplants has sweated set up a n eggplant coating station. Flour on a plate. Beaten egg in a bowl. Panko Crumbs on a plate.

5. Systematically, dredge very lightly in flour, dip in egg, and then coat in bread crumbs. Place on a baking rack situated over a cookie sheet. Repeat.

6. If you are going to bake the eggplant, toss some olive oil on both sides and into the oven it goes!. If you are frying, heat up a wides skillet with a generous amount of oil and fry on med-high until both sides are golden. The eggplant will cook for 30-40 minutes. Flip halfway through. Once they are done, take them out and turn down the oven to 375F

7. Blend the Rosa sauce. Add cream is desired.

8. To assembled the Napolean: In a baking dish, put a spoonful of rosa sauce down, followed by a piece of eggplant. Sauce. Slice of Cheese. Eggplant. Sauce. Slice of Cheese. Eggplant. Sauce. Slice of Cheese. Stop!

You can make individual Napoleans or one large casserole dish. Napoleans are prettier, but casserole dishes are easier. I did both. After all, I am a test ktichensidecar.

9. Back for 30-40 minutes to marry the flavours. Enjoy!