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Changing People’s Minds: A Step by Step Guide:

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…

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Shiny purple skinned and piled high…

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

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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…

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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.

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Then a little ground turkey, mmm…

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

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

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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?

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

The competitive inner child in me is glowing.

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Eggplant Surprise

Prep Time1 hour
Cook Time1 hour
Total Time2 hours
Servings: 8 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 medium 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

Instructions

  • Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
  • Slice the eggplant horizontally very thinly. Salt it well and let it sit for 45 minutes, or until it "weeps."
  • Pat the eggplant dry with papertowel and layer it in a baking dish until the bottom is covered. It is okay if it does not completely cover the surface
  • Add torn basil, ground turkey, a thin layer of tomato sauce, plenty of cheese, and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes.
  • Repeat and repeat until you have no eggplant left.
  • At the top sprinkle a bit of nutmeg and place it all in the oven.
  • In 60 minutes or less, you will change someone's mind, one gooey bite at a time.

 

5 Comments

  • Gordon
    Posted September 23, 2009 at 8:15 pm

    Sounds delicious! Where’s the finished product?!

    • Georgia
      Posted September 24, 2009 at 6:14 pm

      Very good question… well, you see… I was so hungry that I threw my camera to the wind along with my mind and devoured the finished product before I could take a picture. It smelled that good. Next time Gordon, I promise!

  • Mary
    Posted November 16, 2009 at 10:43 am

    I made this the other day and loved it!

  • Maggie
    Posted November 23, 2009 at 12:53 pm

    This is like a low carb healthy version of eggplant parm. It’s totally great.

  • KN
    Posted December 15, 2009 at 8:12 am

    I don’t eat meat so I did this with just eggplant and cheese and it was perfect!

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