This recipe is from my good friend Charlotte, who is also a great cook. I had never eaten eggplant prior to having Charlotte’s Eggplant Parmesan and it was delicious. For instance, Charlotte’s added touch of fresh basil and her homemade sauce made this dish perfect. This recipe is a companion to my blog post about how to grow eggplant in your home garden.
Eggplant Paraesan
Equipment
- 13 x 9-inch baking dish
- 2 Large baking sheets
- 2 large wire racks
Ingredients
- 5 large Italian Eggplant (15-20 if using the Long Italian Eggplant)
- 1 ½ pounds Mozzarella Cheese shredded or sliced
- 2 ½ cups Parmesan Cheese
- 1 cup Flour
- 4 cups Panko bread crumbs
- 4 Eggs
- 6 tbsp Oil
- ½ tsp Pepper
- 32 ounce Jar of Marinara Sauce
- 1 cup Fresh Basil (sliced into thin strips)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425° F. When the oven has preheated, place 2 large baking sheets in the oven to get warm. Set oven racks on the lowest and highest height.
- Peel Eggplant and slice into ¼ inch slices.
- Lay sliced eggplant on paper towels and sprinkle with a little salt to 'sweat' the eggplant to draw out excess moisture. Let sit for 20 minutes and then pat the moisture from the eggplant with a paper towel.
- Put flour and pepper into a zip lock bag. Place each slice of eggplant into the zip lock bag and coat with flour. Remove from bag and lay on paper towels until all of the slices have been coated with flour.
- Beat 4 eggs in a shallow bowl.
- Place panko breadcrumbs in a separate shallow bowl and mix in 1 cup of parmesan cheese.
- Dip the floured eggplant in the egg mixture and then into the panko breadcrumb mixture. Place the coated eggplant onto a wire rack.
- Remove the heated baking sheets from the oven and add 3 tbsp of oil to each sheet. Swirl the oil to coat the sheets.
- Place the coated eggplant on the sheets. Place one sheet on the highest rack in the oven and the second sheet on the lowest rack in the oven. Bake for 20 minutes at 425° F.
- After 20 minutes, rotate pans and bake for an additional 10 minutes.
- To assemble the eggplant parm, put 1 cup of marinara sauce on the bottom of the 13×9 inch pan. Layer the baked eggplant, overlapping each piece. Next, add a layer of mozzarella cheese and ½ cup parmesan cheese. Repeat for 2-3 layers (depending on how much eggplant you have).
- Reduce the oven temperature to 350° and bake for 30-45 minutes (depending upon the number of layers). The eggplant parm will be bubbly and the cheeses brown. Let sit for 10 minutes before cutting.
- Serve with extra sauce and fresh basil.
Notes
This recipe freezes well and is also good as leftovers.
Please check your email to confirm subscription.