Francesca!!!! Look what I cooked!!!! Our accordion eggplant is ready!!!
What do we do now? Are you coming over, or should I wrap it up and invite myself? 😆 😀
Ehhhh I know, I cooked this accordion eggplant just a year or two late… but come on… better late than never!! 😆
That’s it, the accordion eggplant in this recipe was supposed to be the star of a dinner.
We had planned to meet for a dinner with our families and take the opportunity to try this recipe. But you know how things go… you end up postponing, having commitments sometimes me, sometimes Francesca, until she suddenly moved to Pescara and the dinner unfortunately never happened.
Then you say you’ll see each other soon, and you confidently promise that no one will stop you from visiting Pescara for Easter. But then you get an appointment with an operating table 🙄 and the trip has to be postponed until the opportunity arises again.
In the meantime… the idea of making this recipe doesn’t go away! It’s always buzzing in your ear!
You think about it every time you go shopping and look at the eggplants but don’t buy them, and even when you do buy them, but then cook them the usual way, stir-fried, or like mini-pizzas.
And then, again, you buy two more. You grill one immediately telling yourself “I’ll make the second one in that way”, but you don’t.
In short, in the end, two eggplants today and two tomorrow, that day finally… arrived!
Yesss, suddenly on Friday night I took out the second eggplant, which had been waiting in the fridge for three days, and decided to do it “that way”.
And I didn’t care about the heat, defiantly turning on the oven despite everything and everyone. I died of heat!!!! unbearable heat! but I stoically resisted 😛
I also pretended to forget that in this house the only person who enjoys eating eggplants is me, and I cooked it with the same care as if I had prepared it for my husband, children, Francesca, and her entire family.
And then I ate it all myself. 😀 😉 😛
Since I’m on a diet… I have to load up on vegetables!! And… ahem… I don’t even remember what I cooked for the rest of the family!! 😆
Ahah Francesca!!! After this, the accordion eggplants hold no secrets for me anymore! Set the table because sooner or later we are coming!!!
〰〰〰
- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 2
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 1 round eggplant (large)
- 2 tomatoes (ripe)
- Half red onion
- 1.76 oz cheese (I used montasio) (optional)
- basil
- oregano
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Tools
- Baking dish small
How to Prepare and Cook Accordion Eggplant:
Wash and slice the eggplant without cutting all the way through, leaving the slices attached at the bottom.
Wash and slice the tomatoes and onion.
Place a slice of tomato and onion between each eggplant slice. If the tomatoes are small, you can insert two slices of tomato.
Season with oregano and basil, drizzle with a little olive oil, and bake (oven at 392°F, total cooking time about 45 minutes).
For me, it’s great, I love eggplants!!
Some advice:
🔸 I recommend using a small baking dish that fits the eggplant(s) snugly because during baking it softens and tends to “lie down”.
🔹 I let you know I had the idea to put parchment paper on the bottom of the dish fearing the eggplant would stick, but it was unnecessary: the eggplant and tomatoes release liquids and the parchment paper is not only unnecessary but becomes soggy. I do not recommend it.
🔸 You can try using purple or white eggplants instead of black ones to avoid the black liquid that inevitably settles at the bottom of the baking dish. I’ll update you on this when I’ve had the chance to try other eggplant varieties myself.Which color do you prefer, eggplants? 😀 If you click on the photo, you can choose from the many recipes in my eggplant recipe collection, take a look!
Salt-Free Tips
As a reminder that I cook without added salt, I renew my usual tips in brief:
If you are interested in reducing or eliminating salt, always remember to:
▫ Reduce salt gradually, the palate must get used to it slowly and should not notice the progressive reduction.
▫ Use spices. Chili pepper, pepper, curry, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, cumin…
▫ Use herbs. Basil, parsley, oregano, thyme, sage, marjoram, rosemary, mint…
▫ Use seeds. Sesame, pine nuts, almonds, walnuts…
▫ Use spicy vegetables or fruits. Garlic, onion, lemon, orange…
▫ Use my salt-free vegetable granule
▫ Prefer fresh foods.
▫ Avoid cooking in water, prefer cooking methods that do not disperse flavors (grill, foil wrap, steam, microwave)
▫ Avoid bringing the salt shaker to the table!
▫ Sometimes make an exception to the rule. It’s good for your mood and helps you persevere.
If you do not want, or cannot, give up salt:
▫ You can still try my recipes by salting them according to your habits.
Follow Me!
On my Facebook page, on my Pinterest boards, in my two groups: Catia’s group, in the kitchen and beyond and Just what I was looking for! and if you want… subscribe to my Newsletter
On my Facebook page, on my Pinterest boards, in my two groups: Catia’s group, in the kitchen and beyond and Just what I was looking for! and if you want… subscribe to my Newsletter
