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Monday, April 19, 2010

Eggplant Parmigiana "Lite" With Mini-Peppers, Spinach and Olives

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Today morning around 6AM I was all set to hit the gym but my mind was still sleeping.Like an automaton,I pulled out the sedan from the garage only to hear a loud screeching/scraping noise that could have woken the dead..That was because the driver-side mirror of the sedan was putting a deep dash on the SUV parked beside, as I was backing out. I almost got a heart attack then and there.Certainly this was no way to start a week.My hubby goes ballistic if I do anything to his babies.When I meant babies, I meant the vehicles.As a matter of fact, they get better pampering than me. I dreaded the moment I had to tell my hubby about this misfortune that befell his favorite SUV.I mustered courage and told him anyway.Surprisingly, he took it easy.**Sigh**.In a matter of few seconds I had set our bank balance by a few hundreds. Because I was feeling so miserable,he even went as far as to cheer me up when clearly he was the one who needed cheering.
Since he was so nice, I made one his favorite dish for lunch - Eggplant Parmigiana - to thank him.Certainly lifted his spirits. I call this a lighter version because I used very little cheese. Scroll down for the "Lite" version of this fabulous Southern Italian recipe.
Ingredients:
  • Chinese Eggplants - 3, mid-sized
  • Mini Peppers - 6-7
  • Spinach - 1 cup,shredded, packed
  • Black Olives - 2/3 cups
  • Whole Wheat Bread - 2, stale
  • Salt and Pepper for taste
  • Marinara Sauce - 1 1/2 cups
  • Olive Oil - 3 tbsp
  • Parmesan Cheese - 1/3 cup, shredded
  • Mozzarella Cheese - 2/3 cup
Tool:
  • 9 inch Shallow baking pan/ Pie pan
Procedure:
  • Grind the stale bread into a fine powder and spread it on a shallow dish.
  • Halve the mini peppers, remove seeds and membranes. Spread them on a cookie sheet.
  • Cut Eggplants into quarter-inch thick roundels. Spread them on the cookie sheet.
  • Drizzle the Olive oil all over the veggies. 
  • Sprinkle cracked pepper and salt all over them.Using hands make sure they are properly seasoned.
  • Crust the eggplants with bread crumbs and line them as as single layer on the cookie sheet.Don't discard the remaining bread crumbs.
  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
  • Bake the Veggies for 10-12 minutes until the tips of the peppers are browned/charred.Chop the mini peppers.
  • Grease the Pie pan with little oil.Add a thin layer of sauce.
  • Arrange a third of the baked eggplants roundels as a single layer. Top with chopped baked mini peppers,then another third of eggplant roundels, Spinach and olives and finally with the leftover eggplant roundels Pour the remaining marinara sauce.
  • Mix the leftover bread crumbs with Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle on top and then with Mozzarella.
  • Bake at 325 degrees for 35 minutes.
  • Let it rest for 10 minutes. Garnish with finely chopped parsley. Serve warm.
Makes 4 Servings.

Enjoy!
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53 comments:

  1. wow lassie..this is looking good ....love the eggplants, peppers everything dear..

    Love
    KS

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  2. voilà une recette qui me tente beaucoup elle parait très appétissante avec ce mélange de saveurs
    bonne soirée

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  3. love the dish.. new to me ... looks delicious...

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  4. Wow you go to the gym so early, that never worked out so well for me :(...delicious looking eggplant parmigiana....love your light version :)

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  5. Love the eggplants...I love this dish too!....don't worry abt such accidents..they happen,...and that is how u learn.

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  6. My goodness, you're making hungry! Those veggies look so tempting and truly mouthwatering! Yummm.....

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  7. I think eggplant parm makes just about anything better! I'm sorry to hear about your incident, but it happens to the best of us.

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  8. Wonderful recipe. I love the addition of peppers, spinach, and olives. I must try this. Thank you. Sorry about your hubby's car. I have had many of those days. Bent the side of the garage door frame with my side mirror..ooops!

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  9. "Lite" - i like that!! LOL
    I totally love love love this!!

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  10. OH this is a super recipe to try. Love the peppers in it very much. Well illustrated dear. Thanks for sharing this lovely recipe.

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  11. Oh dear I'm sorry to hear about your car incident. But believe me it happens with everyone. Now a days I'm learning driving and always under pressure not to scratch/dent our car :-)
    Love the eggplant dish , very new to me . Looks mouthwatering...
    Deepa
    Hamaree Rasoi

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  12. I know.. guys cant stand when it come to cars they own :( But its a cool way to payback your niceness :) It looks mouth watreing.

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  13. Very nice eggplant parmesan dish.Sorry to hear about your incident with the car.Take it easy.

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  14. LOVE this! I'm not the biggest fan of eggplant, but this looks and sounds so delicious.

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  15. Dear lassie, that's indeed a great way to cheer up DH and u too must cheer up, such things happen..

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  16. Athought I enjoyed the write-up thoroughly, feeling bad for the dent, that too at the start of the day. Loved the way u made it up with an awesome dish, made me drool :):)

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  17. Haha .. I was seeing me in you for a moment.yeah seriously I can understand how it would be . That heaving a sigh of relief is the best moment . No wonder you made this wonderful dish.

    It looks superb lassie

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  18. Wonderful recipe with peppers dear.
    Must give a try...
    Thx. for sharing..

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  19. I am not a fan of eggplant because it usually absorbs the oil it is cooked in but when baked/roasted like this, maybe I will like it :)

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  20. So many different variety dishes you have shared with us :) Thank you for visiting my blog and leaving your invaluable comments :)

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  21. Haiii Lassie,,,intha recipe rombha different ah but rich aana recipe ,,u hv done it very perfect n looks delicious dear..

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  22. Wow congrats CL, i cant go earlier to gym...keep up ur good work..

    Eggplant parmigiana looks truly tempting,cheesy and makes me drool...i do somewat similar too..

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  23. Lassie, lovely dish n pics...one of fav Italian dishes to try out!

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  24. im third on the list...car, gutar and then me....sigh! what all we women ahve to go through;)
    Thats a nice variation to cooking with eggplant...my husband hates it, maybe with cheese on it he wouldnt mind..

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  25. மிகவும் வருத்தமாக போச்சு இந்த பதிவினை படிக்கும் போது கூல்...இது போல பலருக்கும் ஆகும்...உங்களுடைய இந்த eggplant dish really yummy...so nice...

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  26. When I read abt ur car incident it reminded me abt our greatest misfortune..3 yrs before we bought a brand new car and we drove it to our flat from the showroom.We parked it in our carparking in our apartment and went upstairs..within minutes we heard some loud banging..somebody who was learning to drive inside the apartment hit our car leaving a Big dent :(

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  27. Recipe is very new to me and sounds interesting!

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  28. ஓஓ பதிவை படித்ததும் கஷ்டமாகி விட்டது. கத்திரிக்காய் ரெசிபி அருமையாக இருக்கு கூல்...

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  29. Looks so so so yummy.. my very fav one ... one coincidence is i made this 10 days back.. Seeing this feel like having again... Yummy....

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  30. What an excellent eggplant parmigiana recipe, yum!

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  31. wow, what a combination... loved the recipe... it's going to be on the list of must try !

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  32. Aww man .. sucks abt the car .. can understand your guilt! But I'm sure the eggplant dish made up for it .. looks awesome to me!

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  33. It sure looks good with all the wonderful ingredients!

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  34. Looks super tasty! Thanks for visiting my blog!

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  35. Eggplant parmigiana in lighter note is very impressive dear.Bookmarking it. Nice presentation. That anecdote is very touching too.

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  36. HI CL, sorry for the dent..I know how it feels....even my husband is also so fond of his cars..truely they r more pampered than us....
    BTW..the lite version looks so classy and gorgeous....drooling....

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  37. Sorry about the car.This sounds like a great dish to lighten the mood :D

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  38. Wow, gym in the early morning hours! I can't even think about walking! Anyway the dish looks absolutely lavishing and a perfect photograph. Love to try this soon!

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  39. I always worried about backing out from garage, normally every time doing it as very slowly. Any way sorry for side mirror accident Your egg plant Parmesan looks really good.

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  40. I love eggplant parmigiana. urs looks tempting. I am sure gonna give it a try.

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  41. This looks WOWED! just sensational!
    What is marinara sauce?
    I have some sourdough bread that I could try to make this dish for the weekend.

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  42. @Angie,
    Thanks for your sweet comments. Marinara sauce is a tomato based Italian sauce that can be used with Pasta. I always use bottled ones but if you want to make from scratch, check this link out:
    http://kopiaste.org/2009/11/homemade-marinara-sauce

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  43. Thanks, Lassie :-)) I will check Ivy's recipe out first, if it's too complicated, then I might just buy a ready-made.
    Again, thanks.
    :-))

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Thanks a bunch for your valuable comments and continued support.They are very much appreciated. Yes,like "Rain on Dry Land" and like "Oasis in Desert Sand".
XoXo, Cool Lassi(e)