I Never Knew It Was a Berry!

It blew my mind when I learned that Eggplant is a berry!  What?  How can that be?  Well, This Link explains it:

"Eggplants are berries because of the way they grow and their structure. Berries are fleshy fruits that grow without a pit in the middle. They must also come from one flower with one ovary.

Since they fit that description, eggplants are berries."

Look at this nice crop of "berries!"  I was doing my best to support all the eggplant branches so that they could hold the weight  by wrapping them around the wire cages that support the plant.

There are a bunch of blooms on the plants as well, a promising sign for a bigger berry harvest.

My wife selected two nice eggplant from the garden.  Purple, shiny, smooth.

She sliced them up like you would normally do to fry them, but she had other ideas.  (I looked strangely at her when I observed that she had not peeled the purple skin off of them.)  "You can't eat that!" I said.  Well, apparently you can.  The skins are nutrient-rich.  But you must do it with a younger one, and these were younger.  Tonight, Tricia was making Baked Eggplant Parmesan.  She got the recipe from https://www.loveandlemons.com/easy-eggplant-recipes/

Preheat oven to 400 F.  Slice eggplant into 1/4 inch rounds.

Whisk 2 eggs and 1/4 milk.  In another dish mix 1 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs, 1 cup Parmesan cheese, 2 teaspoons oregano, 2 tablespoons thyme, 1/2 teaspoons red pepper, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and fresh ground black pepper.  Dip the eggplant rounds in the egg mixture and then into the panko mixture.

Put the eggplant onto a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and bake for 18 minutes or until golden brown.

Meanwhile, Tricia made a marinara sauce on the stovetop.

Spread 1/2 cup marinara on the bottom of a baking dish, layer half of the eggplant and top with 1 cup marinara and half the mozzarella.  

Repeat with the remaining eggplant, the remaining marinara and the remaining mozzarella.  

Sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with sea salt.

Bake 20 minutes or until the cheese is nicely melted.  Turn the oven to broil and broil for 2 to 4 minutes or until the cheese is browned and bubbling.  Remove from the oven and top with fresh basil.

This meal was a hit.  In fact, a home run!  We will add this to the rotation and will eat again and again as the eggplant harvest continues to come in.