Tag Archives: Eggplant

Parmigiana di Melanzane (Eggplant Parmesan )

Name: Ramona Marks
Class Year: 2002
Country of Residence: Germany

Why is this recipe great? What’s its backstory? 

During the 2015 refugee crisis in Germany, I became involved with our local volunteer group. After many projects and changing priorities, we founded a Verein, or club, at the beginning of 2020, and now have a similar social and tax status as a non-profit in the U.S. I’m the committee leader of the group we call Kulinarik, or culinary. We only had one cooking evening before the shutdown, but we are hoping to have cooking classes and a recipe exchange in the near future. 

I studied abroad in Italy when I was a student at MHC. I love Italy, and of course Italian food. Here where I live in Germany, there is a very large population of Italians, many of whom arrived in the 1970s as economic refugees and had children who have had children. They are a part of the community now, and refugees who arrived during the 2015 crisis are also becoming our neighbors and friends. Cooking together helps, whether Syrians, Iranians, Italians, Afghanis, this American, or of course Germans, among others.

The recipe I chose is an Italian recipe that surprised me: Parmigiana di Melanzane, or Eggplant Parmesan with eggplant that is not breaded. Unlike what I knew in the U.S., this recipe calls for quickly deep frying the eggplant before layering it between a simple tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, and basil leaves. As with so much of Italian cuisine, the recipe is deceptively simple and the outcome depends on the quality of the ingredients.

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Eggplant & Ginger Jam

Name: Rossella Di Palma
Class Year: FF 1999
Country of Residence: Italy

Why is this recipe great? What’s its backstory? 

I like ginger a lot and I sometimes eat jam but I do not like it when it gets too sweet. Years ago I found a recipe online that intrigued me. I made several jars and passed the recipe on to relatives and friends, but it was still too sweet. I then completely forgot until last year, when I felt the urge to make some again. Googling online I found another recipe and I further adapted it.

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Yiayia Effie’s Moussaka (Baked Eggplant)

Name: Sarah Poniros
Class Year: 2013
Country of Residence: USA

Why is this recipe great? What’s its backstory? 

This recipe is very near and dear to my heart.  My family is Greek-American, and we loved my yiayia’s cooking.  However, when I was 12, she began to lose her memory.  We found that most of the recipes she had written down were all incorrect—she didn’t want anyone to be able to replicate them! But even though she could not remember much, she could tell us exactly what she changed on her recipes.  She taught me all her tips and tricks and told me the proper recipe, which I make all the time now.  Everyone loves her recipe and people ask me to make it for almost every occasion!

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