need quick eggplant help

Making eggplant parmessan, low cal version of course.  My eggplant is brownish inside.  Aren't they suppose to be white.  Maybe this is old?  I'll gladly throw it out.  Just bought it for a variety.

I have my answer and just cut the brown off.  Cooked it, ate it and it was pretty good.

They ARE supposed to be white and my mom would soak them in salt water because she said if you get a bitter one, you will do a lot of work for nothing.

You MUST MUST post your version.  This is my favorite italian meal but done the way mom made it meant it took forever. Millions of skinny circle slices, floured, egged, breaded fried, eaten off paper towel when mom wasnt looking (I helped bread them!), layered with cheese and backed.  Only time I tried it, I sliced them lengthwise because I too many slices the other way.

So how do you do it and now never saw a brownish one but it may just be older?

Not that you have to soak them but to clarify, theyire sliced then soaked about 5-15 mins.  If you get a bitter one, apparantly that helps with the taste.  She also paper towel pressed them to dry. 

We make this a LOT. It's awesome because a single $1.29 eggplant can produce about 4 meals worth of food.

Too lighten the meal up, we use low-fat mozzerella cheese, although it's melting properties are weird and it won't have the same look as ooey-gooey real mozzerella. We also use Hunt no sugar added italian sauce (you wouldn't believe there's no sugar).

As for the breading, I don't skimp here. I forget the partitions, but I mix plain breacrumbs, with grated parmesan cheese, parsley, basil and oregano...and a pinch of salt and pepper. I think it's something like 2 tbsp of the cheese and 1 tbsp each of the herbs to 1 cup of bread crumbs -- but I'll check later.

We do the flour, egg wash, bread and then I'll fry lightly in pure olive oil. It does take a while as you can often get about 20 thin slices per eggplant and I can only fit about 3 at a time in my pan.

Once you've done that (and not eaten then because they taste SOOO good plain), get a glass dish. I'll coat the bottom with a smear of olive oil and tomato sauce (so they don't stick). Layer the eggplant and cover with sauce to your liking. Sprinkle with 4 parts shredded mozerella and 1 part grated parmesan cheese. Then bake at 350 for about 10-15 minutes (or until the cheese is "melted" -- again low-fat mozerella doesn't really melt that well).

BTW, per your initial question, eggplant should look like the inside of an apple in color -- a greenish white. I find the best eggplants are firm and unbruised on the outside when I look for them at the store.

Hope this helps,

Evan

Spoken like a champ Evan - I think this might be more of a maintenance thing for me but so good to know.  Also right on about the greenish white.  I always found the raw spongy texture weird considering cooked their limp like sliced tomatoes (fried green tomatoes LOL).

I once ordered them out and they were served as the disks with mozzerella  melted over each and tomato sauce drizzled over them.  Not a big sauce fan, this could definitely be worked with your version for eating them individually. 

I can't eat salt, so didn't soak in salt water, cause even rinsing and draining, I think they would retain some salt.  it just makes me balloon up.  If I was cooking for someone else, I would do that and also bread and fry it.

That recipe above sounds really good.  I've cut calories to the bone, so since this was just for me, I skipped the breading and frying.  I just cooked it in some of my own spaghetti sauce I had in the freezer, with the minimum cheese on it.  It was really good.

EGGPLANT IS MY FAVE FOOD IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry I am posting so far after the last post, but I saw the topic and need some help.  I can't figure out how many calories are in eggplant.  On this site, it only gives me eggplant boiled, not baked, and only in cubes and only in a cup.  How about 1/2 inch slices and baked?  Anyone have a guess? 

I also make my own eggplan parm - low fat cheese, no sugar sauce, etc.  Yours sounds really good forcaster - I wll try it!

Thanks in advance for any response

getgamey:  I estimated the size and figured the calories as tho I were having a cup.  Veggies are so good for us, and I figured if I underestimate, at least its healthy calories.  Usually I round up if I'm not sure.

sorry I'm not more help.

A lot of ppl enter their recipes here under the 'recipe analyser' to get the nutrition and calories for their dishes.  maybe you could try that.