FIVE ~ SIX : QUICK EGGPLANT MARINARA

JUNE 15 2011

FIVE : FENNEL, CELERY ROOT, PARSLEY & RED ONION SALAD WITH LEMON & OLIVE OIL
SIX : EGGPLANT MARINARA ("QUICK EGGPLANT FIX" VERSION)

My plan was to make the eggplant marinara when I got home from work today. But I hadn't thoroughly read the recipe and didn't realize it took 7.5 hours! Four hours to simmer the tomato sauce then 3.5 hours to bake the assembled dish. Oh man! That means we would be eating at approximately midnight.

Lucky for me, the Frankies acknowledged that 7.5 hours is a long time to wait for dinner so they included a short-cut version that only takes 2.5 hours. I can handle that! But I got to get that sauce going as it has to simmer for an hour.

Hmm... somehow I don't have any Pecorino Romano or fresh mozzarella. Dang! Gonna have to go to the store while the sauce simmers. Note to self: read the recipes thoroughly and make sure I have every ingredient on my shopping list!

Back from the store. Sauce done! Eggplant prepped! Now just assemble with lots and lots of Pecorino Romano and stick in the oven. While that's baking, I can turn my attention to the salad. I've never made anything with raw celery root and am a little worried it will be a kinda tough. We shall see...

Finished salad with everything thinly sliced on the mandolin and tossed with a nice, lemony dressing. Looks good! Hope it tastes good. Happily the parsley is fresh from my garden :)

After 1.5 hours in the oven, the eggplant marinara is done. Smells divine in the house right now. Rich, cheesy, tomato-y. Last step is to top with slices of fresh mozzarella while still hot. Cannot wait to dig in!

Add a few left-over spears from yesterday's asparagus snack and we got ourselves a nice meal.

The eggplant marinara is splendid! So rich and the eggplant is like velvet. I can only image how it would be after another 2 hours in the oven (we will find out at some point this summer). In the future, I will probably reduce the amount of cheese in each layer. It is really good but almost too decadent. Also, the fresh mozarella, as I found out at lunch the next day, doesn't reheat well. So maybe keep it on the side to be added to each serving just before it's eaten. Other than that, loving it!

The celery root & fennel salad is less successful IMHO (although hubby thinks it's great). Just a bit too crunchy. In fact, with every bite, all I can think is "man, this is crunchy". I think the key to this salad is to assemble it the day before and let it marinate overnight in the dressing to soften it up a bit. And it might be worth the effort to lightly blanch the celery root.

What a great dinner!