Julia Child’s Spaghetti Squash With Eggplant Persillade. New Music From Vogue Dots.

Q: What is green, sings, and is at the bottom of the sink?
A: Elvis Parsley.

I don’t really get that at all.

Moving right along.

My Julia Child cookbooks have been getting mighty dusty as of late. Like everyone else, I have been so busy and don’t have much time for complicated recipes.

The thing is, I always forget that interspersed with the 100 step Julia recipes are some straightforward simple ones. Like this Spaghetti Squash With Eggplant Persillade.

Persillade, French for “a sauce or seasoning mixture of parsley chopped together with seasonings” such as garlic or herbs, is used to flavor sautéed eggplant. The eggplant is then served on a bed of spaghetti squash. It’s a simple, light meal for a busy night and made me smile because I did a Julia midweek! Yay.

Spaghetti Squash With Eggplant Persillade

Ingredients:

1 spaghetti squash
1 medium eggplant
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, minced
6 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped
½ freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more to serve
Lemon juice to taste

Directions:

1. Cut squash in half. With a sharp knife, pierce each squash half in at least 6 places, making sure these slits remain open to ensure that squash does not explode in oven.

2. Place squash halves in a glass baking dish with ¼” water. Microwave on high 10 to 14 minutes, rotating and turning squash 3 times during cooking, until squash gives slightly when pressed. Using a spoon, remove the seeds and discard. Using a fork, gently pull the strands of squash away from the peel. Place the squash strands onto a serving dish and keep warm.

3. Cut eggplant into half-inch pieces and place in a colander. Sprinkle eggplant with ½ teaspoon salt, let drain for 20 minutes, then dry with paper towels.

4. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil. Sauté eggplant over medium-high heat for 4-5 minutes, until tender. Add garlic and toss for 1 minute. Add parsley and Parmesan, then some lemon juice and black pepper, to taste. Stir to combine and spoon over the spaghetti squash to serve. Pass around additional Parmesan.

Serves 4 to 6

Recipe from Julia Child’s Menu Cookbook