Recipe - Melanzane Alla Cioccolata (Chocolate Eggplants)

4 md Eggplants
2 tablespoon Coarse Grained Salt
1 cup AllPurpose Flour
1 pound Solid Shortening
Salt
4 ounce Prosciutto
10 Sprigs Italian Parsley,
Leaves Only
1 teaspoon Dried Marjoram
6 Xtra Lg Eggs
2 tablespoon Milk, Cold
Black Pepper, Ground

Cut off the top part of the eggplants. Peel the eggplants. Slice the
eggplants crosswise into slices less than One fourth " thick. Place the slices in
a large colander over a large bowl. Sprinkle liberally with the coarse
grained salt. Place a dish on the eggplants as a weight to help squeeze out
the bitter liquid. Let stand for about 20 minutes. Heat the solid
shortening in a deep fryer. Wash the eggplant slices carefully in cold
water to remove all traces of the salt. Pat dry with paper towels. Line a
serving dish with paper towels. Lightly flour the eggplant slices. Preheat
the oven to 375 degrees. Deep fry the eggplant slices, a few at a time,
until they are lightly golden brown on both sides (about 3 minutes). Remove
the slices from the or deep fryer and place on the prepared serving dish to
drain. Sprinkle the fried eggplant slices lightly with salt. Cut the
prosciutto into small pieces. Coarsely chop the parsley and marjoram
together on a board. Transfer these ingredients to a large bowl. Add the
eggs and milk. Mix well with a fork. Add salt and pepper to taste. Butter a
(13 1/2"x8 3/4"x1 3/4") oven safe baking dish. Place the eggplant slices in
the baking dish in layers. Pour the egg and seasoning mixture over. Bake
for 30 minutes. Serve immediately from the baking dish. Use a knife to cut
portions. Serve portions using a spatula.
Posted to EATL Digest 09 Oct 96

From: Joel Ehrlich Joel.Ehrlich@SALATA.COM

Date: Wed, 9 Oct 1996 12:40:50 0800