Breaded Eggplant With Fontina Cheese And Anchovies Recipes

BREADED EGGPLANT WITH FONTINA CHEESE AND ANCHOVIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
• If desired, trim off and discard the skin of each eggplant round. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Dip each round in flour and shake off excess. Beat the egg with water and dredge each round, bottom and sides, in the mixture. Dredge each, bottom and sides, in the bread crumbs. Shake off excess.
• Fill a heavy skillet with oil to a depth of about half an inch. Heat until the temperature on a fat thermometer is about 375 degrees. Add the eggplant rounds in one layer and cook, turning occasionally, about three minutes or until each round is golden brown and cooked through. Drain on absorbent paper towels.
• Arrange the rounds on a baking sheet or tin. Top each with a round of Fontina cheese. Split each anchovy fillet in half. Arrange two pieces of anchovy in the shape of a cross in the center of each piece of cheese. Place in the oven and bake five minutes or until the cheese is thoroughly melted. Serve, if desired, with tomato sauce or garlic, oil and anchovy sauce.

BAKED 'FRIED' BREADED EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil; coat with about 1 teaspoon olive oil.
• Combine bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, garlic powder, oregano, basil, salt, and pepper in a shallow dish.
• Combine eggs with a splash of water in a separate shallow dish. Coat both sides of an eggplant slice with the egg mixture. Dip eggplant slice in the bread crumb mixture to coat. Place slice onto the baking sheet. Repeat coating the remaining eggplant slices. Drizzle remaining 2 teaspoons olive oil over the breaded slices.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes.

PAN-FRIED EGGPLANT WITH BUFFALO MOZZARELLA, WHITE ANCHOVIES, AND RAISIN-PINENUT RELISH

Steps:

• Distribute the eggplant on a sheet pan in one layer and generously salt on both sides. Lay another sheet pan on top of the eggplant and place a heavy object on top to add pressure. Set aside for 1 hour. Remove the weight and transfer the eggplant to paper towels and pat dry.
• Add the oil to a large hot skillet, making sure to cover the entire bottom of the pan with about 1/8 inch of oil. Add the eggplant just before the oil starts to smoke-it should sizzle as the eggplant is dropped in and the eggplant should brown pretty quickly. Once the eggplant is golden on both sides, about 3 to 5 minutes, remove from the oil and transfer to paper towels. Allow the eggplant to come to room temperature or to cool completely.
• Grill the bread slices on one side only. Rub the grilled side of 4 of the slices with the garlic. Top with the eggplant, followed by the mozzarella, the anchovies, and the relish. Top with the remaining 4 slices, cut into halves, and serve.

SCALLOPINE WITH EGGPLANT AND FONTINA CHEESE

Steps:

• Trim the stem from the eggplant. Remove strips of peel about 1 inch wide from the eggplant, leaving about half the peel intact, and cut the eggplant into 1-inch slices. Sprinkle a baking sheet with salt. Arrange the eggplant slices over the salt and sprinkle the tops with salt. Let them stand until both sides are wet, about 30 minutes. Rinse the eggplant under cool running water, drain thoroughly, and pat dry.
• Preheat the oven to 400° F. Wipe the baking sheet clean and oil it generously, using about 3 tablespoons of the oil. Arrange the eggplant slices on the baking sheet and turn to coat them with oil. Roast until tender and well browned, turning them and rotating them in the pan as necessary, about 20 minutes. Remove and cool. Increase the oven temperature to 450° F.
• Lay one sage leaf, if using, over the center of each scallopine. Season the scallopine lightly with salt and pepper, keeping in mind that the prosciutto is cured with salt. Cover each scallopine with a piece of the prosciutto, and tap the prosciutto with the back of a knife so it adheres well to the meat.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of the remaining olive oil and 2 tablespoons of the butter in a heavy, wide skillet over medium heat. Dredge the scallopine in flour to coat both sides lightly. Tap off excess flour, and add as many scallopine to the skillet, prosciutto side down, as will fit without overlapping. Cook just until the prosciutto is light golden, about 2 minutes. (Overcooking will toughen the prosciutto.) Turn, and cook until the second side is browned, about 2 minutes. Remove and drain on paper towels. Repeat with remaining scallopine, adding more oil if necessary.
• After removing the last scallopine, pour in the remaining tablespoon of oil and scatter the garlic in the skillet. Cook, turning, until golden brown, about 3 minutes. (Lower the heat, if necessary, so the bits of flour that stick to the pan don't burn while the garlic is browning.) Pour the wine into the skillet, bring to a boil, and boil until almost completely evaporated. Pour in the stock and drop in the remaining 3 tablespoons butter. Bring to a boil, stir in the chopped tomatoes, and boil until the sauce is lightly reduced and glossy, about 4 minutes.
• Meanwhile, arrange the scallopine side by side in a baking dish. Cover each with eggplant, cutting or tearing the slices as necessary to cover all the scallopine more or less evenly. Top with the Fontina slices, dividing them evenly. Dot the top of each Fontina slice with a dab of tomato sauce. Pour the pan sauce around the scallopine.
• Bake until the cheese is melted and lightly browned in places and the sauce is lightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Divide the scallopine among warm serving plates. Spoon the sauce-through a strainer, if you like-around the scallopine. Decorate the plates with sage leaves, if desired.

BAKED EGGPLANT WITH RICOTTA, MOZZARELLA AND ANCHOVY

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375 degrees. Generously oil a 9- by 13-inch baking dish. Season eggplant slices on both sides with salt and pepper. Arrange half the eggplant slices in one layer on bottom of dish, overlapping slices slightly. Drizzle or paint eggplant generously with olive oil. Sprinkle with crushed red pepper to taste and scatter onion slices evenly over surface.
• With a small spoon, distribute the ricotta in little blobs evenly over surface, then arrange half the smoked mozzarella over the ricotta. Sprinkle with 1 cup grated provolone.
• Make another layer of overlapping slices with remaining seasoned eggplant. Drizzle or paint eggplant generously with olive oil. Top surface evenly with remaining smoked mozzarella and provolone, then sprinkle with Parmesan and pecorino. Arrange anchovy fillets over top and sprinkle with bread crumbs.
• Bake uncovered for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until eggplant is quite tender when pierced with a fork and top is crisp and golden. (If top seems to be browning too quickly, tent with foil and reduce heat to 350 degrees.) Remove from oven, dust with oregano and let rest at least 20 minutes before cutting into squares. The dish is best served at room temperature, not piping hot.

SAUTEED EGGPLANT WITH CAPERS AND ANCHOVIES

Steps:

• Peel the eggplant and cut into 1/2-inch cubes.
• Pour the olive oil in a highly heated large nonstick skillet and add the eggplant, red and green peppers and the onions. Cook and stir until tender. Do not overcook.
• Add the garlic, salt, pepper, pepper flakes, rosemary, capers and anchovies. Cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley and serve hot.

EGGPLANT SANDWICHES WITH FONTINA CHEESE AND SUN-DRIED TOMATOES

Steps:

• If desired, trim off and discard the skin of each eggplant round. Place each round on a flat surface and hold a knife parallel to the surface. Cut each round in half, splitting each sandwichlike almost but not through to the end. Leave a small hinge at one end of each round. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Fill each sandwich with a round of Fontina cheese and top each piece of cheese with a sun-dried tomato. Close each sandwich.
• Dip each sandwich in flour and shake off excess. Beat the egg with water and dredge each sandwich, bottom and sides, in the mixture. Dredge each sandwich, bottom and sides, in bread crumbs to coat thoroughly. Shake off excess.
• Fill a heavy skillet with oil to a depth of about half an inch. Heat until the temperature on a fat thermometer is about 375 degrees. Add the sandwiches in one layer and cook, turning occasionally, about three minutes or until each round is golden brown and cooked through. Drain on absorbent paper towels. Serve, if desired, with tomato sauce or garlic, oil and anchovy sauce.