New Italian Recipes Presents:
Italian Eggplant Cake With Aioli Dressing
Ingredients:
2-3 (depending on the size of your "vessel") large, fresh eggplants, peeled and
sliced crosswise into 3/4" slices. Choose ones that are firm and unblemished,
this dish deserves it.
3 eggs, beaten for egg wash
2-3 Tablespoons, fresh Italian Parsley, chopped
Sea salt (preferably) and freshly ground black Pepper (no substitute here)
˝ cup flour
Dry, seasoned Italian bread crumbs. (The exact measurement here will vary
depending on the number of eggplants, but about 1 cup. You want them to be fully
coated, not just dusted)
Sauce:
6-10 garlic cloves, sliced thinly
3/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup fruity red wine, such as a quality white zin or cabernet sauvignon
About 1/4 cup fresh rosemary (leaves only, just peel them off of the stems). You
can chop them into smaller pieces if you like, but we just add them whole.
2 bay leaves (be sure to remove this before it gets into the dish)
Freshly ground black pepper (if you are fortunate enough to have Tellicherry in
your pantry, use it for this dish.
See herb and spice dictionary. A Large, round cake pan or plastic bowl.
Once again, we use a two or three layer sized plastic round cake
pan lid. And it works really well. Tip: Use the same pan you use when you make
the
timpano recipe. Preparation:
Place eggplant slices in a large colander or two in sink.
Lightly salt each eggplant slice and stack them in colander(s).
Place a plate upside down over eggplant stacked slices and place "weight" on the plate. We use large, economy sized, canned foods for this. You could use bricks, even, anything that will press down firmly the stacked eggplant slices so some of the liquid will drain out.
Leave for about 1/2 hour.
When you remove the eggplant slices, wipe them off with a paper towel. This eliminates most of the salt and the "clinging" droplets. For serious Italian gourmet chefs, this process eliminates much of the eggplants “potential” bitterness. (Really fresh eggplants aren't all that bitter, but this step is truly a gourmet touch, and I assure you, most really "adept" Italian Chefs of any renown, use the technique. There's nothing like going that extra few feet to reach the pinnacle.)
Make the sauce by placing all ingredients into a medium sauce pan over medium heat.
Bring to a boil and let simmer for a few minutes, but do not reduce. You're just marrying the flavors.
Remove from heat and allow to cool.
You'll need three dishes to dip and bread the eggplants, large enough for the flour, Italian bread crumbs and the beaten eggs.
Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large sauté pan or wok, to 350 degrees.
Dip the eggplants slices in the flour first, just enough to dust both sides.
Next, dip the slices into the egg, both sides, then coat both sides well with the Italian bread crumbs.
Next, right into the hot oil until both sides are medium brown.
Take them out one by one with tongs, shake off the excess oil and layer them without overlapping any more than necessary on the bottom of the plastic cake pan. Drip some of the sauce mixture over the 1 layer of slices to coat fairly liberally. (Make sure you’ve removed the bay leaf, we don't want anybody biting into that.)
Repeat with the remaining eggplant, always coating individual layers with the sauce before adding next layer.
Repeat until you reach the top of your dish, or until you run out of eggplant.
You can leave this just like it is, covered with tin foil or plastic, for at least a week. It just gets better with age.
Just before serving, warm eggplant along with the aioli dressing featured below.
Aioli Dressing
1 large garlic clove, peeled 1/4 t salt 1 egg yoke, coddled (place the whole egg
in boiling water for 1 minute, remove and run cold water over it until you can
crack it and extract the yoke). 4-5 T extra virgin olive oil 4 T mayonnaise
In a metal or wooden bowl, (or with a mortar and pestle) crush the garlic well with the salt as a grinding agent.
Add the egg and mix it in.
Drizzle in the olive oil, stirring constantly.
Mix in the mayonnaise with a whisk until smooth and thoroughly combined.
To serve:
Ladle a bit of the warm aioli over individual slices of eggplant, 2-3 pieces per
serving.