VE Turning 40 Celebration – Eggplant Parmigiana

Posted by in Cookbook Reviews, Special Features | 29 comments

Wondering what VE is? It’s the shortened title coined by author Anna Thomas for her cookbook, The Vegetarian Epicure. This year, upon the coaxing of David from David’s Table, I’ve been getting into celebrating one of my all time fave cookbooks that is turning 40 years old. I’ve entered my special photo and along with today’s post – an adapted recipe for eggplant parmigiana, a Happy Birthday article I wrote last month…this is turning into a stellar VE 40th birthday celebration! For this post I’m also including a cookbook giveaway for one of you lovelies to receive a gently-used copy of The Vegetarian Epicure, from me to you! (see info below)

Confession time! Prior to this attempt, I’d never made Eggplant Parmigiana before. I was a little bit leery only because everyone coming for the family brunch had their own food experiences to recall about good and bad recipes they had tried before. And from start to plate, to the “OMG! Mom this is sooo good” to “Honey you did it” with a wink and a thumbs up, I sorta, kinda knew Anna wouldn’t let me down. ;) Enjoy my version, which isn’t too far off the original, and if you are the give-away winner I encourage you to turn to page 137 and give Anna’s recipe a try too!

Baked Eggplant Parmigiana

 

What you’ll need…

- 1 medium eggplant; sliced about 1″ thick, give or take a skosh
- flour; I used white, whole wheat would be fine too
- egg with a splash or two of milk to use as a wash; beaten
- dried breadcrumbs; mix in some wheat germ (optional, although it adds nuttiness)
- olive oil (I added a few cubes of butter too…mmm!)
- thin slices of mozzarella cheese. (another option is Swiss cheese, which I’ve tried and loved it!)
- homemade or bottled pasta sauce; the thicker the better, I used Newman’s Own Roasted Garlic
- fresh grated Parmesan cheese

 

Eggplant in flour for parmigiana

Set up your “dredging and dipping” station; flour, egg wash, and breadcrumb/wheat germ mixture. Wash, do not peel your eggplant and slice. Now with each eggplant slice, on both sides, dredge in flour, dip in egg wash, and finally into breadcrumbs…making sure each slice is well coated; set aside. When all the eggplant is breaded, heat olive oil and butter to medium high in a large frying pan.
Pan Frying Breaded Eggplant

Fry breaded eggplant, a few at a time, until they are nicely browned on both sides; tend them carefully and add oil and butter if it is needed. Arrange them in a baking dish in a single layer. 8 slices fit snugly into my .
Preparing the Eggplant Parmigiana

Here comes the fun part…dressing your fried slices of eggplant…mmm! Build from the bottom up. Put 2 to 4 slices of mozzarella cheese on each one (my family requested extra cheesy). Spread 2 to 3 tablespoons of pasta sauce on each slice. Finally, sprinkle the grated Parmesan on top of it all. Bake at 400°F for 15 to 25 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Serve steaming hot!
French bread - braided and rising to bake

A simple green salad with dressing and hot buttered French bread goes perfectly with Eggplant Parmigiana. The Vegetarian Epicure has our all-time favorite recipe for French bread which I have shared on my review of the cookbook over at Squidoo.

The Vegetarian EpicureAnna Thomas wrote The Vegetarian Epicure back in 1972…with over a million copies sold, it’s a classic cookbook that I feel everyone should have for their kitchen.

That is about it for today. You are appreciated and loved!

UPDATE – The winner of a gently used copy of The Vegetarian Epicure was Faye! Putting the cookbook in the mail today!

 

 

 

29 Comments

  1. Faye / June 22, 2011

    Yikes, this makes me feel so old! This was one of the first cookbooks I bought after I got married, and we have a number of favorites from it. It’s definitely a good one to introduce again to a new generation of cooks.

    Reply
  2. Nelly Rodriguez / June 22, 2011

    Awesome book! Would love to win it!

    Reply
  3. Joan Adams / June 23, 2011

    Would love to win this cookbook for my daughter’s Christmas! She loves to cook!

    Reply
    • Correen / June 23, 2011

      Joan The Vegetarian Epicure would be such a nice gift. She must try the French bread – if you win the giveaway :) Thanks for stopping in today.

      Reply
  4. Heather Burns / June 23, 2011

    Yum is the word! I use this recipe too.

    Reply
  5. Susan Kaul / June 23, 2011

    I’ve never even made this dish, I’d sure like to try yours. I really think it looks fantastic. And I sure do trust your judgment. Great job as always Correen.

    Reply
    • Correen / June 24, 2011

      Thank you Susan…I’ll have to tell you it is so darn delicious. Who woulda thunk eggplant, cheese and sauce could be a marriage in food heaven? Thanks for dropping in :)

      Reply
  6. Laura--The Sushi Snob / June 24, 2011

    Ooh, looks good. Maybe I can get my husband to actually like eggplant.

    Reply
    • Correen / June 24, 2011

      Laura – welcome to my blog and thank you for stopping in. I’m convinced your hubby will give this a try…especially if you include homemade French bread and a couple kissies ;)

      Reply
  7. Cee / June 25, 2011

    I’d seen this at our local library, but hadn’t thought to investigate it. It sounds like a great cookbook, and I am always on the lookout for recipes with simple ingredients that will feed my family well. Thank you for this giveaway!

    Reply
    • Correen / June 26, 2011

      Cee thank you for stopping by for my eggplant parmigiana recipe and cookbook giveaway. Yep, The Vegetarian Epicure has simple, yet delicious recipes within its covers ;)

      Reply
  8. Liz L. / June 26, 2011

    VE was the cookbook of my childhood! My mom made so many of the recipes – my favorites are the Mac n Cheese and the Caesar Salad. I would love to win because I only have VE Book Two.
    1. I tweeted this giveaway
    http://twitter.com/#!/BlameTheBadGirl/status/85167326609154048
    2. Shared on Facebook
    http://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=114866895269929&id=100000112680444
    3. I like your Facebook page
    liz(dot)lazear(at)gmail(dot)com

    Reply
    • Correen / June 26, 2011

      Liz you are a darlin’! I’d sure give a squee! if the random generator picks you ;) Got ya added 4 times in the drawing. Thanks for stopping by…don’t be a stranger.

      Reply
  9. Hyatt / June 26, 2011

    Would love to win!
    Tweeted giveaway
    http://twitter.com/#!/Enrico_Palazzo_/status/85168629682941952
    and shared on Facebook
    http://www.facebook.com/hyattff2003/posts/235076639855348
    hyattff2003(at)yahoo(dot)com

    Reply
  10. Sheryl / June 28, 2011

    Thanks for sharing your yummy recipe with us at Cast Party Wednesday. I hope you come back and visit us tomorrow.
    Thanks again.
    I hope to see you there!

    Reply
    • Correen / June 30, 2011

      You are welcome Sheryl…great idea for a weekly feature. I’ve added your name in the drawing for the cookbook ;)

      Reply
  11. Heather Katsoulis / June 30, 2011

    terrific looking recipe – i can almost smell it cooking!

    i’d love to win that great cookbook!

    Reply
  12. Culinary Favorites From A to Z / July 6, 2011

    Thanks for the invite, this recipe looks yummy. However, please don’t put my name in your draw. I would rather see the book go to someone who is a vegetarian and I’m in Canada. Good luck everyone!

    Reply
  13. Karen / July 6, 2011

    Well, hey, I’m vegetarian, and I’ll be forty soon, too. (I hope that’s not too off-topic; it went with the post title — and I thought at first you were suggesting to celebrate with an eggplant.)

    Reply
    • Correen / July 6, 2011

      Ha, ha Karen. All good reasons to stop by and celebrating a birthday with this eggplant parm recipe wouldn’t be too bad, huh? Thanks for stopping in and got ya added for the giveaway ;)

      Reply
  14. Faye / July 17, 2011

    The VE book came on Friday! I plan to give it to my daughter, who has had her own apartment for about a year, and could use some cooking help! Mine is very well used!
    Thank you again!

    Reply
    • Correen / July 17, 2011

      Thanks for letting me know that you received the cookbook…and passing on the treasures bound within this cookbook to your daughter makes me so ding-dang happy! I think I just heard Anna sigh too 8)

      Reply
  15. Sandra's Easy Cooking / June 16, 2012

    I love eggplant parmigiana, and you did fantastic job!Congrats to the winner!

    Reply

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