One particularly fine friend recently said he didn’t like eggplant. So I made eggplant for dinner.

When someone tells me they don’t like a particular food, I don’t hear them. I go conveniently deaf. Then I’m suddenly possessed by the overwhelming urge to make that particular food. Annoying? Probably… but I like to take the more highbrow view — it is a challenge! And the ultra competitive older sibling in me kicks in and becomes determined to change their mind.

This was my attempt… 1 Bodacious Eggplant…

Cut into many thin, imperfect slices…

Shiny purple skinned and piled high…

Well salted so that they soften and become tender in the oven…

Or you could do it the right way by spreading them out and salting them evenly. But I don’t like doing things the right way. I’m too anti-establishment for that…

Then, after they sit and “bleed,” “weep,” “cry,” you get the metaphor, you dab them nicely with a paper towel to remove all the excess salt and the brown eggplant juice…

Then you lay them nicely, overlapping, in a baking dish and drop torn pieces of basil.

Then a little ground turkey, mmm…

Then tomato sauce and cheese, mmm cheese, the universal food that ties us all together.

With enough cheese, you will change any one’s mind… even about politics… a chunk of cheese does wonders.

Keep repeating these layers over, and over, again, and again until you’ve run out of eggplant. Sprinkle the top with red pepper flakes and a touch of nutmeg. Stick this in the oven at 350 degrees F for an hour or so…til the top looks golden and gooey.

Did it work? Did the man convert?

You betcha! And he liked it even more the second day.

The competitive inner child in me is glowing.

“Changing People’s Minds Eggplant”

1 Eggplant
1 bunch fresh basil leaves
1 cup ground turkey meat
1 jar tomato sauce
3 cups grated cheese
2 tablespoons red pepper flakes
1 pinch nutmeg
salt

1. Slice the eggplant very thinly. Salt it well and let it sit for 45 minutes, or until it “weeps.”
2. Pat it dry with papertowel and layer it in a baking dish until the bottom is covered. Spaces are A-OK.
3. Add torn basil, ground turkey, a thin layer of tomato sauce, lots ‘o cheese, and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes.
4. Repeat and repeat until you have no eggplant left.
5. At the top sprinkle a bit of nutmeg and place it all in the oven.
6. In 60 minutes or less, you will change someone’s mind, one gooey bite at a time.

The End.

Tags: Brown Eggplant Juice, Changing People's Minds, Cheese, Conveniently Deaf, Eggplant, Ground Turkey, Recipe, Tender in the Oven