Experiment of the day: Eggplant

We've branched out a lot over the past two years. John now eats sausage, I eat a lot more vegetables than I used to, and we both eat mushrooms (well, morels at least).

I've liked eggplant parmesan for several years now, but that's not the same as liking eggplant. After all, in eggplant parmesan, the eggplant is basically just a conveyance for sauce and cheese. What doesn't taste good with sauce and cheese?

Today, while browsing Slashfood, I came across a new eggplant recipe. Wouldn't you know it? I had two eggplants sitting in the fridge. So, onto the experiment.

Ingredients

• 2 local, organic eggplants
• Organic light mayo
• Wheat germ (a few tablespoons)
• Parmesan cheese (a few tablespoons)
• Salt and pepper

Directions

The directions couldn't be easier. Peel and slice the eggplant and lay it on a foil lined oven sheet. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.

Remove the pan from the oven and brush each slice of eggplant with a thin layer of mayo. Then sprinkle the whole dish with wheat germ, salt, pepper, and grated parmesan cheese.

Broil until the cheese is brown and crispy.

This was quite good. We both felt, however, that this would have been even better with some sort of dip. Hmmm... maybe with say a tomato sauce? While that would be ironic, I do think I will use this method the next time I want to make eggplant parmesan as well. It would be a lot easier than breading the eggplant and a lot healthier than frying it.

Next time I'll also brush the foil with a thin layer of olive oil. The eggplant stuck to the foil just a bit.

Here's a close-up.