I finally made eggplant parmigiana tonight. It was fantastic! I like a recipe from “The Romagnoli’s Table”, with my modifications.

Fried Eggplant: 3 medium eggplant, salt, flour, olive oil

Sauce: 4 halved garlic cloves, 1 small chopped onion, 1 24 oz can chopped tomatoes, 6-8 big basil leaves, some salt, 1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese, 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Topping: 1/2 cup unseasoned bread crumbs, 1 sliced fresh tomato

Preheat oven to 350. Slice eggplant into long 1/4 to 1/2 inch slices. Salt liberally. Let stand 20 minutes. Meanwhile, make sauce: Saute onion and garlic until golden. Add canned tomatoes, basil and salt. Simmer 15 minutes. Scrape salt off eggplant, then rinse, lightly squeeze and pat dry. Dredge in flour and fry oil until golden. Drain on paper towels. In baking dish, layer tomato sauce, fried eggplant, some mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Repeat these layers until everything is used up ending with sauce. Layer on tomato slices then top with bread crumbs and a little cheese. Bake for 15-30 minutes, or until bubbly and golden.

My eggplant variety this year is called “Classic”. Its just what they had at my local nursery this spring. It’s described as a mid season hybrid with deep purple-black fruit, elongated teardrop shape and vigorous plants that stand up well to stress.

I just noticed that a Cornell site has a great list of varieties of vegetables with ratings and sources. “Classic” is one of the 99 varieties of eggplants they list! It is rated 4 of 5 points. I think I’ll check out this site more when I’m thinking about seeds in mid-winter.