eggplant parmesan

Who doesn't love eggplant parm? I mean, seriously. It may be laborious to make, but it's pretty foolproof, and totally delicious. I took advantage of a rainy day recently to make it for the first time in a year or so. Here's how it goes:

• 2  medium Italian eggplants, cut crosswise into 1/4" thick slices
• 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/2 cups olive oil
• 10-20 fresh basil leaves, torn in half
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 large eggs
• 3 1/2 cups breadcrumbs (I had smaller amounts of Italian style and panko, so I just mixed them)
• 1 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
• 1 lb fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
• 1 jar of your favorite pasta sauce (I KNOW! I'm lazy...)

Go ahead and preheat your oven to 375°F.

Stir together flour, salt, and pepper in a shallow bowl. Lightly beat eggs in a second shallow bowl, then stir together breadcrumbs and 1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano in a third shallow bowl.

Heat up the olive oil in a large, deep, non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Allow the oil to heat up while you prepare the eggplant.

Working with 1 slice at a time, dredge eggplant in flour, shaking off excess, then dip in egg, letting excess drip off, and dredge in the breadcrumbs, pressing until evenly coated.

Fry eggplant slices a few at a time (fill the skillet, but they shouldn't overlap or anything), turning over once or twice, until golden brown, about 5 to 6 minutes per batch. Transfer with tongs to paper towels to drain.

While that's going, heat up your sauce (I actually combined 1/2 jar tomato basil with 1/2 roasted garlic, as that's what I had in the fridge already - turned out well). Coarsely chop the basil leaves and add them to the sauce to simmer while you finish frying the eggplant.

Take a baking dish (I only used a 9x9, as I cook in a toaster over, but you could use a full size one should you have the appliances to accommodate it). Spread 1/2 cup of the tomato sauce in the bottom of the baking dish. Arrange about one third of eggplant slices in 1 layer over sauce, overlapping slightly if necessary. Cover the eggplant with about one third of remaining sauce (about 1 cup) and one third of mozzarella slices. Continue layering with remaining eggplant, sauce, and mozzarella. Sprinkle top with remaining Parmigiano-Reggiano.

I baked covered for about 20 minutes, then uncovered until the cheese is melted and golden and sauce is bubbling, about another 20 minutes.

I like to serve mine over a bowl of pasta, but you could totally eat it as-is. This would easily feed a family of 4, or make some amazing lunches for the following days.

Bon chappétit!

eggplant parmesan and/or lasagna

So, I'm going to be a bad Italian for a moment and admit that I'm not sure what this dish should be called.  I make two variations of it, and I like them both so much that I could actually care less what the proper name is.  Here's what you'll need:

• 1 eggplant
• A couple eggs (2-3 maybe? Idk.)
• Italian style bread crumbs
• Lots of olive oil
• Pasta of your choice (I dig Angel Hair)
• Cheese (I use mozzarella, which I'm aware negates the "parmesan" in the title, so feel free to use parm if that suits your fancy)

Start by heating up a good amount of oil in a decent size pan (you need enough to cover the eggplant slices.  Slice up the eggplant horizontally so that you get circular slices.  I usually like to get them around 1/8-1/4" thick.  Don't go too thick, or they won't fry properly.  Beat the eggs in a small bowl, and pour some bread crumbs out onto a plate.  Dip each slice of eggplant completely into the egg, then coat with the bread crumbs.  Plop them in the hot oil, flipping every few minutes until done.  When done, place them on a place over a paper towel (to absorb excess grease).

While that's going on, heat up some of your favorite pasta sauce (I usually like a tomato basil with a lot of added pepper).  When the pasta's done, drain and plate.  Add some eggplant slices on top, with some sauce on top of that.  Finish with the cheese of your choice and let melt for a few minutes.  Done.

The other variation to this is to go for an eggplant lasagna.  All I do here is take a 9x9" baking dish, and alternate layers of eggplant, cheese and sauce until I run out.  Then I cover and bake for awhile on 350 degrees (say 30 minutes) and then another 10-15 minutes uncovered.  I serve this on top of pasta with a little extra sauce.  It's also amazing the day after.