A couple weeks ago, I made this incredibly easy baked eggplant recipe. When I studied abroad in Florence, Italy, I made this at least once a week – if you’re an eggplant lover like me, you’ve got to try this! Somehow it’s been five years since I left for my semester abroad in Italia {!!!}. It will forever be one of the greatest decisions I’ve ever made – not only was it insanely fun, but I also made great friends and have amazing memories in the place I called home for the first five months of 2012.
Maybe it was because I was in Tuscany – or maybe it’s because I was on a limited budget and would of rather spent my money on clothes, drinks and restaurant-quality food – but I ate a LOT of eggplant during those five months.
My roommates and I would take turns {I use this loosely – I think we only made it a few rounds} cooking dinner for each other, and I loved to replicate {read: try to replicate} some of my favorite meals that my nonna {grandma} makes. She is the best cook I know, and one of those people who doesn’t need a recipe or instructions to whip up something that everyone {including picky grandchildren} will love. Most of the time when I’m in the kitchen, I feel like I need to follow along with a recipe, but luckily, after years of watching my nonna – there are a few recipes that even I can remember. In Florence, these were my go-to recipe since I don’t think I could of survived on a steady diet of corn flakes and juice-box wine.
As I get older, I’m more interested in cooking – the tried and true recipes and the ones I make up on a whim. So last week I gave it a try and spend my Sunday making my baked eggplant as an appetizer and paired it with some of my dad’s sauce, which complimented it perfectly! These are certainly not as good as my nonna’s, but they did take me back to Florence and all the fun, food and laughs I experienced along the way.
Friday I’m going out with a few of the ladies I studied abroad with, and I can’t wait to see them and reminisce about the best semester ever. Whether you’re cooking or drinking or ordering in this weekend, I hope you enjoy spending time with your people. If you like eggplant – and want to try a healthy appetizer for the Super Bowl {I know this isn’t a thing – I’m making buffalo chicken dip!}, I hope this recipe makes you feel like a real Florentine! Saluté!
What you need: And in typical Nonna-fashion, I don’t have exact measurements on how much of each ingredient you need. My advice? Wing it.
One eggplant
Breadcrumbs {unseasoned}
Chopped, fresh parsley
One egg
A dash of milk
Salt & pepper
Optional: red pepper flakes
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spray cooking oil on a cookie sheet
- Wash & thinly slice your eggplant. Set them aside on a spate plate.
- Create a mixture of breadcrumbs, chopped fresh parsley, a pinch of salt and black pepper on a plate
- Mix your egg with a dash of milk {I ended up needing another egg near the end, so have an extra on hand}
- Individually dip each slice of eggplant into the egg and then coat the eggplant in the breadcrumb mixture
- Place the eggplant evenly on the cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes on each side {or until soft}
- Serve the eggplant with your favorite sauce for a healthy appetizer!
*If you’re feeling wild, you can also fry these up in canola oil – not as healthy, but very delicious!