Princess cruises eggplant parmigiana recipe

[judbusluc]

Thank you very much! I, too, am interested in PRINCESS recipe.

[SueseaQ]

Just had to say- a real Italian makes gravy not sauce.

 

That's not quite true :rolleyes:. Both my Grandmothers were from Italy, "real Italians", my Barese Grandmother called it "sauce", my Sicilian Grandmother called it "gravy". Either way both were excellent cooks :D!

[Sunny AZ Girl]

This is the recipe we were given. It is in the current cookbook that we bought this year on the Golden. Looks good!

 

Princess Eggplant Parmigiana

 

Fresh Tomato Sauce

(makes 2 cups)

 

1/4 cup olive oil

4 pounds Roma tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped

8 cloves fresh garlic, chopped

2 cups onion, small dice

2 teaspoons sugar

¼ cup fresh basil, chopped

¼ cup fresh oregano, chopped

salt and pepper

1 teaspoon butter, cold

 

6 medium Long Tom eggplants

1 cup mozzarella, shredded

¾ cup Parmesan, shredded

 

olive oil for frying

2 garlic cloves

salt and pepper

 

fresh basil leaves

 

When in season use fresh Roma tomatoes. Peel them by cutting a small x in the end of the tomato (opposite the stem end). Place the tomatoes in boiling water for approx. 20 seconds. Remove from the boiling water and place in ice water to stop them from cooking. The peel then can then be peeled off with your hands or by using a small knife. Cut the tomatoes in half, remove and discard the seeds and the stem and rough chop. Alternatively, use good quality canned Roma tomato that has been peeled and chopped.

 

Heat the olive oil gently in a heavy stock pot. Saute the onion and garlic until translucent. Increase the heat, add the chopped tomatoes and the sugar. If the tomatoes are very sweet omit the tomatoes from the recipe. Stir the tomatoes often to allow for evaporation and to prevent burning, approx. 10 minutes. Add the fresh herbs and season with the salt and pepper.

 

Cut the eggplant lengthwise into ¼ inch slices, keeping them connected at the stem end. Salt the sliced eggplant generously and let them sit for 15 minutes to draw out the moisture. Rinse the salt off and pat the eggplant dry with paper towels

 

Heat the oil in a saute pan with the garlic cloves to season the oil. Cook the eggplant until tender and nicely browned on each side. Form the eggplant into fans as they are cooking.

 

Preheat the broiler. Place the cooked eggplant fans on a baking tray. Season with salt and pepper and top with the mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Place under the broiler to melt and brown the cheese.

 

Meanwhile heat the tomato sauce. Serve th Eggplant Parmesan on a bed of the fresh tomato sauce and garnish with basil leaves.

[Iamcruzin]

I saw this post and couldn't resist reading it. I had the eggplant on CB 2 weeks ago in Sabatini's. My wife asked me how it was. Although it was good I can honestly say that it wasn't as good as her's. The main reason being that it was too thick.

[dcrow72]

I saw this post and couldn't resist reading it. I had the eggplant on CB 2 weeks ago in Sabatini's. My wife asked me how it was. Although it was good I can honestly say that it wasn't as good as her's. The main reason being that it was too thick.

 

 

exactly what I was saying; it was green and mushy in the middle from being thick and undercooked! All depends on what you are used to; we all have different tastes. It's also one of those things that are regional and have many family variations.

[Spender Nui]

Thanks to everyone for your responses and especially toSunny AZ Girl for the recipe.

[Sunny AZ Girl]

I thought the Eggplant was to die for, but then I have never had it before, so nothing available for comparison. The recipe I posted was the one that was in the cookbook. When we bought the cookbook it was for that recipe specifically, although I really don't remember if it was fanned out. The head waiter who brought us the cookbook did say that it was the recipe used. I had the appetizer portion, though. On my next cruise I plan on having it as my entree!

 

I do not see how it would affect the tase if you just sliced it in rounds instead of fanning it out and browned the cheese on it that way? It sounds easier and you would have more control over the thickness. I like to cook, but I keep it simple, usually. When you start talking about fanning out and browning an eggplant it scares me!:eek:;)

[llarsen]

dcrow72

Made your recipe and my whole family loved it!! That's a big compliment coming from my picky Italian dad, and husband who hates eggplant (until I made YOUR recipe)

I had the eggplant on Princess and agree...too mushy.

Not sure if you'll ever see this message, but thanks for giving your recipe.

[kittikat]

although their eggplant was good, it was too mushy for me. My family recipe is very easy:

 

slice the egglplant very very thin (most important step-the rest is fail proof).

 

Heat veggie oil about an inch or so deep in a heavy skillet.

 

Scramble up some eggs. Add a little water, salt, pepper, parsley, basil, garlic powder and a handful of parmesan cheese. beat well.

 

in a shallow dish, put some flour. Add salt, pepper, parsley, and garlic powder.

 

coat the eggplant with the flour well and then dip in the egg and right into the hot oil (if you drop a drip of egg into the oil first it should instantly sizzle up). Takes only a few minutes. flip when you see the edges brown. Drain on paper towels. Protect it from being eaten before it makes the bakiing dish (1/2 of mine will be eaten right off the paper towels).

 

Guarantee it's better than the mushy stuff. Layer it up with your favorite sauce, sprinkle of grated cheese (I like Romano), and top with some mozzarella. Bake til bubbly in 350, about 20-30 minutes. Enjoy

I just found this thread today and this recipe sounds wonderful. I am not a fan of any store bought sauce that I have tried. Do you make your own sauce and if so would you share your recipe for that also? If not I would like to know what kind of sauce you use. Thanks so much for sharing this with us!

[C&F]

Just had to say- a real Italian makes gravy not sauce.

 

Oh no, not that argument again, lol. We called a sauce with meatballs, sausage, beef, braciola, etc.. a gravy. Regular tomato sauce was just called sauce. It's a regional and generational argument that will live on forever.

Whatever you call it, enjoy it!!

[dcrow72]

dcrow72

Made your recipe and my whole family loved it!! That's a big compliment coming from my picky Italian dad, and husband who hates eggplant (until I made YOUR recipe)

I had the eggplant on Princess and agree...too mushy.

Not sure if you'll ever see this message, but thanks for giving your recipe.

 

 

told you didn't I? LOL. I'm so glad you enjoyed it. It is truely the best taught to me by my beloved Uncle Joe who owned pizza restaurants in New Haven, CT since the 50's. I worked for him from the time I was old enough to fold pizza boxes. I can't eat eggplant any other way. We fried bushel after bushel of eggplant every August when it was fresh from the farm and froze it for the year. Hope it becomes one of your family favorites! Bon Appetite!

[dcrow72]

I just found this thread today and this recipe sounds wonderful. I am not a fan of any store bought sauce that I have tried. Do you make your own sauce and if so would you share your recipe for that also? If not I would like to know what kind of sauce you use. Thanks so much for sharing this with us!

 

 

sauce or gravy (my father's family called it gravy too) is a matter of personal preference. My recipe is very easy and pretty foolproof. I don't measure but I'll give you the general idea and you can take it from there.

 

 

cover bottom of heavy pot (and it must be a heavy pot or it will burn) with olive oil.

 

toss in some italian sausage whatever your favorite is. I use about 6-8 links of our local homemade sweet sausage.

 

brown it well on all sides

 

open cans: equal amounts of Hunt's tomato sauce (plain not flavored and make sure it's the sauce) and any variety of crushed Italian plum tomatoes you like. Make sure the tomatoes are not puree or don't have puree added. You can buy whole plum tomatoes and run them thru the blender too. This depends on how much sauce you want to make. I make a huge pot and freeze the rest since it takes so long. I use about 6 large cans of each. It works equally as well in smaller batches with less cans.

 

sometimes I'll throw in a small onion chopped and saute at this point.

 

crush and coursely chop about 10 cloves of garlic and toss in with the cooked sausage. cook only a few seconds. Add all your canned tomatoes and tomato sauce before the garlic burns/browns. Rinse all the cans with a tiny bit of water and toss in the pot.

 

Now comes the hard part cause I don't measure!

 

handful of parmesan or romano cheese

handful of parsley (I use dry)

1/2 handful of basil (dry)

salt

pepper

dash red pepper flakes to taste

dash or two garlic powder

 

bring just to starting to boil stirring and scraping the bottom very frequently; don't walk away at this point

 

turn down to simmer and stir every 5-10 minutes for about 3-4 hours makiing sure you scrape the bottom of the pot well; the bigger the pot, the longer it should simmer. No right or wrong here but the longer it simmers the better it tastes.

 

 

for variation; if I have some pork ribs or beef, I'll throw it in to brown with the sausage. My dad used to add pepperoni after it came to a boil too. It's all good. enjoy.

[kittikat]

Sounds awesome, thanks!! I can't wait to try it:)

[njtwinmom]

although their eggplant was good, it was too mushy for me. My family recipe is very easy:

 

slice the egglplant very very thin (most important step-the rest is fail proof).

 

Heat veggie oil about an inch or so deep in a heavy skillet.

 

Scramble up some eggs. Add a little water, salt, pepper, parsley, basil, garlic powder and a handful of parmesan cheese. beat well.

 

in a shallow dish, put some flour. Add salt, pepper, parsley, and garlic powder.

 

coat the eggplant with the flour well and then dip in the egg and right into the hot oil (if you drop a drip of egg into the oil first it should instantly sizzle up). Takes only a few minutes. flip when you see the edges brown. Drain on paper towels. Protect it from being eaten before it makes the bakiing dish (1/2 of mine will be eaten right off the paper towels).

 

Guarantee it's better than the mushy stuff. Layer it up with your favorite sauce, sprinkle of grated cheese (I like Romano), and top with some mozzarella. Bake til bubbly in 350, about 20-30 minutes. Enjoy

 

This is my exact recipe for eggplant and everyone LOVES it. You're right the key is slicing the eggplant very thin. We also love to eat the fried eggplant before you bake it with the sauce and cheese. Even taste good cold. YUMMY!