Eggplant, like okra, has its haters. Too slimy, they shudder, when it's overcooked. Too rubbery, they sneer, when undercooked. Tasteless, they say, like chewing fiber-board. So alluring when whole, but so ugly--boiled dust bunnies! slugs!--on the plate. Bitter, spongy, and such a diva: as one friend sighed, "It's so high maintenance. The things you have to do it to make it edible just seem like more work than necessary for what you get in the end."
Personally, I agree with none of these statements, except for the caveat against undercooking, since it's very true that eggplant that's too close to raw will have all the textural appeal of foam rubber. But who am I to argue with deep-seated vegetable revulsion? It only pains me that, as a result, you've been depriving yourself of one of the great comfort foods of life: gooey, cheesy, tomato-sticky eggplant parmesan.
Until now, when I bring you its divine substitute, green tomato parm.
Chief Wiggum: "Hey, what you packing, Simpson?"
Homer: “Just my lunch. Chicken parm, meatball parm, eggplant parm, shiska parm, angel hair parm, moo goo gai parm. My wife can parm anything.” (from The Simpsons, "Chief of Hearts" Episode 18, Season 21)
Take a page from Marge Simpson: you, too, can parm anything. The idea for this dish comes from Sharlene Rednour, performer, educator, mother of three, eggplant hater, and author of the fabulous Femme's Guide to the Universe, now out in a freshly updated digital edition.
Rednour may hate eggplant, but she loves all things parm, and no one can touch her when it comes to frying up green tomatoes. She also likes this dish for how it showcases both green tomatoes and their red-ripe brethren, turned into sauce.