Eggplant

Braised lamb and eggplant

Hello Reader,

Last night I made a pumpkin and feta salad with some lamb.

Tonight, I’m using the leftover lamb and extending it with some eggplant plus some older vegetables from my refrigerator. I will hopefully have enough food for dinners throughout the week. 

Instead of a traditional slow braise, I’m using a pressure cooker. I like using my pressure cooker. As a kitchen appliance, it’s versatile and suits my needs.

Recipe

Equipment

  • Pressure cooker
  • Frying pan

Ingredients[i]

  • Lamb (leftover rolled boneless shoulder meat)
  • Gravy (leftover and made from the cooking juices of the lamb with roux)
  • Hot chips (leftover from Friday night’s chicken and chips dinner[ii])
  • Potato (diced)
  • Eggplant (diced with the skin left on)
  • Stock (leftover lamb cooking juices)
  • Red wine (to deglaze the fond from the frying pan)
  • Onion (old cut onion from the refrigerator)
  • Spring onion (cut roughly)
  • Celery (cut roughly)
  • Carrot (cut roughly)
  • Parsley (old and ready to be discarded)
  • Fennel (old and ready to be discarded)
  • Vegetable oil

Instructions

  1. Add some vegetable oil to a hot frying pan and gently fry the meat to give it more colour. Remove the meat and add the “hot” chips, onion, spring onion, eggplant, celery, carrot, and fennel. Cook these vegetables until they caramelise, and leave some fond in the bottom of the frying pan.
  2. Deglaze the pan with a small quantity of red wine, whisky, or cooking sherry. It doesn’t matter. Water would also work, but I have wine, whisky, and sherry, so I may as well use it. 
  3. Transfer the contents of the frying pan to the pressure cooker.
  4. Add the meat, leftover gravy, and stock to the pressure cooker.
  5. Don’t forget to toss in the old parsley.
  6. Cook under pressure for 15 minutes[iii].
  7. After 15 minutes, turn off the heat and allow the pressure cooker to reach atmospheric pressure naturally. The natural equilibration allows the flavours of the foods to combine longer and make this meal an equivalent of a slow braise in terms of flavours.
  8. Open the pressure cooker, and with a large spoon, aliquot the contents into separate containers for refrigeration.

Serving suggestions

  • During the week, I’ll take a large spoonful of lamb and eggplant and serve it with noodles or rice. One night I might also place it on top of some sourdough bread and heat it in the oven.
  • I can mix various things with the lamb and eggplant each night to keep the meals enjoyable. I’ll work that out each night.
  • This approach gives me meals that can be quickly prepared when I get home from work.
  • If I’m using noodles or rice, I’ll heat the lamb and eggplant with microwave radiation. I know some readers eschew the use of microwave radiation; I’ve read limited evidence that this form of cooking can cause damage or harm to humans[1]. In my personal and not my professional opinion, I remain happy using microwave radiation for personal use.
  • While I’d generally try to spend more time each night on a meal, I’m currently unable to, so this approach is what it is. 
  • I hope you have a good week.

References

  1. Michalak, J., et al., Effect of Microwave Heating on the Acrylamide Formation in Foods. Molecules, 2020. 25(18).

Photographs


Endnotes

[i] Many of the ingredients were ready to be discarded. Rather than waste them, I cooked them. This is why I like my pressure cooker. A pressure cooker can be used like an autoclave. An autoclave is used to sterilise things, like surgical equipment or media for growing microorganisms and for food. I was recently involved in a food incident involving poor food handling by a commercial catering company. It was a reminder to think about food safety. 

[ii] Friday was a challenging day. I was mentally exhausted by the time evening came, so I decided to eat chicken and chips. Chicken from Coles. Chips from the fish shop. Gravy from a bottle. 😉

[iii] Fifteen minutes is the standard duration for most autoclave cycles. The lamb has already been cooked, so it doesn’t need a longer cooking time. The eggplant only needs between 10 and 15 minutes. Fifteen minutes at standard pressure will kill bacteria, bacterial spores, fungi, and parasites. It will also render all viruses incompetent. I try not to use the term kill for viruses because viruses are not alive. Viruses are mobile genetic elements. Viruses are either competent or incompetent.

Gary makes eggplant parmigiana

Gary makes eggplant parmigiana.

Eggplant Parmigiana with steamed broccolini
Eggplant Parmigiana with steamed broccolini

Backstory

I’ve never made eggplant parmigiana before. I don’t think I’ve eaten eggplant parmigiana before. I know I’ve eaten chicken and veal parmigiana before, which probably reflects my primarily carnivorous mindset. 

I was at a work lunch recently, and a friend asked for a chicken parmigiana. When it arrived, it was bigger than my head (and I have a large noggin).

Photograph of eggplants at the supermarket
Photograph of eggplants at the supermarket

GC, my amazing Italian friend, has shared photos many times of eggplant parmigiana made by her hands. I asked about a recipe, and GC shared a blog post from Silvia Colloca, an Italian-born Australian opera singer, YouTube content creator, and TV celebrity.

When I visit Brisbane, SBS Food is often on the TV, and I’ve seen Silvia’s show many times and enjoyed the way she presents her food.

The blog post, while instructive, wasn’t written as a recipe per se, so I sought extra instruction from GC, which she generously shared.

So, armed with all the information I thought I needed, I went to Coles and purchased everything I needed.

Ingredients

  • Eggplants—choose the girthy ones rather than the pencil-thin ones.
  • Salt—If you’ve read my previous posts, you know why I always use iodised salt. Don’t believe the people who claim iodised salt is terrible for you. These individuals have no idea of what damage they are doing to society.  
  • Vegetable oil—this is for frying the dry eggplant slices. I bought home-brand sunflower oil. I’d appreciate any guidance on whether readers feel this isn’t the best oil to use. I figure it has a higher vapour point than extra virgin olive oil, and I don’t want a bitter taste associated with overheating the oil.
  • Mutti passata—I bought a 700-gram bottle as per GC’s advice.
  • Garlic cloves—I bashed them and left the skins on. 
  • Fresh basil—leaves and stems.
  • Shallot—1 chopped finely.
  • Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
  • Mozzarella cheese—GC recommended La Casa Del Formaggio as per GC’s advice.
  • Parmigiano reggiano cheese
  • Black peppercorns—For the most lively flavour on your tongue, I always try to grind the peppercorns just before adding them to a dish. 

Instructions

Eggplant

  • Wash the eggplants (or aubergine—you fancy pants!) with tap water. You should wash all your vegetables to free them of dirt, potential pathogens, and to dilute potential toxic chemicals on the surface of your vegetables.
  • With a sharp cook’s knife, slice the eggplants longitudinally. I did ask GC whether it would be best to cut circular discs; however, GC cuts along the long axis of the eggplant. Who am I to question the master!
  • Layout the sliced eggplant on a tea towel, and then add a liberal amount of salt to each slice. Leave the pieces for about ten minutes, and then using a paper towel, wipe off the accumulated moisture and wet salt.
  • Turn the slices over and repeat the salting and drying. The aim is to get your eggplant as dry as possible. You don’t want it moist. Frying wet food is dangerous, and you don’t want a problematic eggplant! This step also minimises any bitterness in your eggplant. After all, you want a nice dry eggplant with good taste and mouthfeel. I did watch a few YouTube videos of Italian cooks and chefs making eggplant parmigiana, and many of them sat weights on the slices to actively squeeze more water out. This eggplant squeezing looked like a lot of hard work.
  • Some people suggest dusting the dry eggplant with flour. Some people even suggest dusting with flour and then dipping it into a beaten egg. GC doesn’t do this. So, I don’t do it.
  • Heat the vegetable oil in a wok. Yes, I use a wok because a wok is safer for working with hot oil. I wouldn’t use a vertical side saucepan or skillet. When using this sort of cookware, hot oil can “climb” up the sides and results in more dangerous hot oil splatter. I’ve burnt myself too many times. 
  • To test the temperature of the oil, drop a little bit of eggplant skin into the oil. If it bubbles on landing in the oil, you should be good to start.
  • I took the time to measure the temperature so I’d know for next time. The temperature of the oil was 170 °C.
  • Fry the eggplant slices in small batches to avoid the oil temperature falling, resulting in the eggplant absorbing oil rather than being fried quickly.
  • When the eggplant slices are golden brown, remove them from the hot oil with chopsticks (after all, you’re cooking in a wok) and lay each piece onto an absorbent paper towel. Doing this will soak up excess oil.

Tomato sauce (Sugo)

  • In a saucier pan (yes, okay, I’m fancy, I have an excellent saucier pan, you can use a saucepan or skillet), gently fry off the bashed garlic with the skin on, the chopped shallot, and the basil.
  • Add in the bottle of passata and gently simmer for 20 minutes, stirring the sauce occasionally. 
  • Set the sauce aside to cool.

Assembly of the eggplant parmigiana

  • Heat your oven to about 200 °C.
  • With a ladle, add some sauce to the bottom of a baking tray.
  • Add a layer of eggplant on top of the sauce.
  • Add thin slices of mozzarella on top of the eggplant.
  • Repeat the layering until you have finished.
  • Grate some Parmigiano Reggiano on top and place the baking tray into the oven for about 30 minutes.
  • On completion, remove the baking tray from the oven and allow it to rest for about 15 minutes.

Plating up

  • With a large serving spoon, cut out a portion on the eggplant parmigiana and place it on a warmed dinner plate.
  • Serve with some freshly steamed green vegetables.
  • Garnish with fresh basil.
  • Season with freshly ground black pepper.

Dessert idea

After 15 months, I returned yesterday to working as an honorary visiting medical officer (VMO). I do this clinical work once a week to keep my specialist registration as a pathologist (microbiologist). 

It was great being back in my natural habitat and surrounded by pathologists, medical laboratory scientists, and trainees (known as registrars*). I love the banter of being with my colleagues; we laugh, we joke, and we dive deep into enjoying the wonder of the interactions between pathogens and humans.

One of the new trainees recommended a vegan ice cream. Her husband is vegan and so she has adopted many of his food preferences. It sounded perfect, so for dessert (as well as afternoon tea), I had an affogato made with vegan ice cream and Atlas coffee.

Dessert affogato with Vegan Connoisseur ice cream and Atlas coffee.
Dessert affogato with Vegan Connoisseur ice cream and Atlas coffee.

Final thoughts

  • Many posts I’ve read and YouTube videos I’ve watched suggest that leftover eggplant parmigiana tastes better than freshly cooked. I’ll let you know what I think in another post in the future.
  • As far as I’m concerned this was delicious. I think I may have used a little too much salt on the eggplant because it was saltier than I’d anticipated.
  • Have you made this dish before?
  • What’s the best oil for frying eggplant slices?
  • Would adding some slices of provolone cheese on the eggplant be inappropriate? I like the sharp bite of what has become one of my favourite cheeses (thanks, GC, for introducing me to all the great cheeses in life).
  • Can you describe in the comments below how you cook this dish?
  • I’ve heard some people say this is better than lasagna. Do you agree?
  • My next food project is making lasagna. I’ve never done that before. 
  • Shout out to best friends like GC who make life better and worthwhile. Praise God! 🙏

*a registrar is a (medical) doctor in training who is embarking on specialist training.

Thumbnail/Featured image of "Gary makes eggplant parmigiana"
Gary makes eggplant parmigiana

Nood Bog also known as noodle bolognese

Nood bog, what the hell is nood bog?

You’re going to have to read this nude bog post while in a happy lighthearted frame of mind. Just know that sarcasm is my first language…if you’re offended, that’s your problem and not mine 😎

Photograph of an eggplant or aubergine or the 🍆 Gary Lum
Eggplant 🍆
Audio from the Random Yummy podcast. Check out the links below in the questions.

Nude bog???

So, what is nood bog? I mean I know that Canberra has a thriving naturist community who like to swim in a watering hole on the south side of town. I’ve never been there, nor have I ever participated in any naturist activities. I’m very much a clothes on person, apart from when I’m in bed sleeping. However, that’s entirely different and not up for discussion here.

Dedicated to a workmate who is horrified that an offspring referred to spaghetti bolognese as noodle bolognese and that I have shortened it to nood bog.

Thanks GC
Continue reading