Recipe for Eggplant Parmesan Right Here
Yup. But let me learn ya somethin first… (the recipe is below)
The eggplant is an amazing piece of produce.
Eggplant contains vitamins, nutrients, phytonutrients, and fiber, and it has anti cancer, virus, cholesterol, and offers free radical protection too. It is particularly protective of blood vessels and brain cell membranes.
This isn’t an article about the health benefits of eggplant, and let’s face it, by loading it with cheese it’s probably not the healthiest way to eat it, but hey, as the character of Marie Barone from Everybody Loves Raymond says, “What’s healthier than the foods you love!”
It’s hard to believe that there are so many a recipe for eggplant parmesan out there, because there is really only one way to make it the right way. Every so often I order an eggplant parmesan hero from a pizza place and it doesn’t have the cheese and it’s layered a certain way that doesn’t make sense, or they don’t peel the skin off…
Disaster!
Eggplant Parmesan Recipe – There Is No “Easy” Way
What do you want me to tell you, that eggplant parmesan is easy? It’s not rocket science, but it takes some prep and work. It’s a bit more involved than boiling pasta, but it’s not that hard once you learn how.
First you have to peel the eggplants as you would a potato, with a peeler.
Then you cut them into rounds by slicing them so that the pieces are flat and round, about 1/8 inch thick.
Here are the basic ingredients:
2 1/4 lbs ( 2 large) eggplants, skinned
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 clove minced garlic (about 1 teaspoon)
1 28-oz can whole peeled tomatoes (San Marzano), tomatoes diced, reserve the juices, OR you can use tomato sauce, either homemade or canned, but if you’re buying canned try to buy an organic one not full of sugar
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh basil – dried will do in a pinch
Kosher salt
Ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
1 1/4 cups grated Parmesan cheese, divided
3/4 cup flour
4 eggs, beaten (more if necessary)
1/4 cup olive oil (a little more to the sheet pans)
1 1/2 pounds fresh mozzarella, sliced into 1/4-inch slices
Some people sweat the eggplant slices by coating each with some kosher salt and then leaving them on a rack or layered between paper towels on a baking sheet for about 2 hours.
Get 2 sheet pans and lightly oil it by pouring a little oil in there and spreading it around so that it’s well coated but not pooling and puddling.
Put that out and ready to accept your breaded eggplant.
Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a 4-quart saucepan on medium heat. Add the minced garlic and gently simmer for 1 minute or until it smells nice. Add the tomatoes and their juices or the tomato sauce. Add salt and pepper to your preference. Increase heat to bring to a simmer and lower heat to a very low simmer for 15 minutes without covering. Add the minced basil and remove from heat.
Mix the breadcrumb with the grated Parmesan cheese and place in a large mouth bowl.
Preheat the oven to 425°F.
Slice the eggplant up into 1/8″ slices and then you dip each one in the scrambled egg bowl and then you dredge them in the breadcrumb bowl until they are each coated with breadcrumbs.
Place each one flat on the baking sheets that were coated with oil until they are all side by side and all ready to be baked. Drizzle a little oil over each eggplant round.
Place these sheets in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes. Halfway, take each out and turn the slices over and place back int he oven for the second half of the cook time.
They should get a nice golden brown and not burned.
Remove from oven when done and let cool so that they can be handled.
Spread half cup of tomato sauce over the bottom of a thirteen by nine-inch casserole dish.
Want a tip?
Get a disposable aluminum baking pan from the supermarket and use that. You won’t have any cleanup after it’s all eaten. Just toss it.
Place a third of the eggplant rounds in a single layer covering the sauce on the bottom of the pan.
Spread half of the sliced mozzarella slices over the top of the eggplant layer. Do the same with about 1/3 cup of the grated Parmesan cheese.
Now place the next third of the eggplant over that layer creating another layer. Spread one cup of the sauce over the eggplant layer. Place the rest of the sliced mozzarella over that and then put another 1/3 cup of the grated Parmesan cheese over that layer.
Add the last layer of eggplant rounds over the cheese and spread another one cup of the sauce over that and then another 1/3 cup of the grated Parmesan.
Now you have your layered eggplant.
It’s just like building bricks or something, right?
Not hard at all!
Bake this uncovered at 350°F for about 35 minutes.
Remove it from the oven and let it cool for about 10 minutes (20 if you can wait) before cutting into it.
Serve it up and enjoy!!
