Cooking For One: Jersey Sans Jersey
I looked in my fridge and saw a large eggplant, leftover ricotta and kafir lime leaves. Surely, a run to the store was in my future for dinner tonight.
But wait. Today's Iron Chef tasting and judgment panel would consist of me and only me. Time to make the best of it and get creative.
I thought about eggplant parmigiana. A natural progression for me, as this was one of the first dishes I'd ever made. (C'mon people, I'm from Jersey after all).
Rather than labor to make a traditional eggplant parm, I thought it would be interesting to explore multiple preparations and textures of eggplant within a single dish.
These little stacks of eggplant would feature a layer of crispy, crusty baked eggplant, coated in a crust of curry and bread crumbs. A second layer of curried fresh ricotta would add an earthy creaminess. The third layer of this 'not eggplant parmigiana' would be slices of eggplant cooked slowly in a kafir lime infused coconut milk.
This dish was very simple to make. Simply slice 1/4 inch thick slices of eggplant (use a ring mold to make them uniform if presentation is important to you). Beat an egg and brush it on half the eggplant. Then sprinkle these slices with a bit of salt, pepper, curry powder and bread crumbs (both sides). Give them a drizzle of olive oil over the top, then bake the eggplant in a 350 oven for 10 minutes, finishing on broil for maximum crispiness.
In the meantime, add the rest of the eggplant slices to a pot and cover with coconut milk, a bit of stock, a few kafir lime leaves and a squeeze of lime juice. Simmer on low heat (avoid boiling) and cook until the eggplant are tender, about 10-12 minutes. While waiting for the eggplant to cook, mix a pinch of curry and chopped chive into the ricotta.
To serve, make layers of the crispy eggplant, a dollop of ricotta and finally the coconut kafir eggplant, repeating twice. Finish with the crispy eggplant slice and you're ready to serve. A few tablespoons of the coconut kafir lime sauce is a welcome finish to the dish.
And there you have it. Jersey, sans the Jersey.
Amazing. Honestly, I don't know how people think so creatively when it comes to food! Not my gift, that's for sure...
Posted by: ACB | June 04, 2007 at 10:22 PM
yeahhhh....but was it good?
Posted by: Kathy | June 05, 2007 at 01:20 PM
i don't post average tasting dishes on this site. i wouldn't lead you astray like that!
acb, not to worry. seems like you are gifted beyond belief!
Posted by: joe | June 05, 2007 at 02:52 PM
Aw, shucks. Thanks! =] Be in touch if you ever need entertainment for your Tasting Events...
Posted by: ACB | June 06, 2007 at 02:09 PM
I can't wait to try this! It's a little more adventurous than most of my experimentations, but is sounds too delicious to not attempt...
Posted by: Spence | July 29, 2008 at 04:58 PM