Recipe #29: Eggplant Parmesan

I was in Chuppa's farmers market the other day and was inspired by three perfect little baby eggplants packed together, just waiting for me to purchase them. Except as one of many veggies in a pasta dish, I've never had eggplant before, so I decided to go all out and look for an eggplant parmesan recipe. I found a highly-rated one on allrecipes.com and decided to try it. This is DEFINITELY one I'm going to make again. One thing I like about this recipe is that the eggplant is baked, not fried.



Since I bought three small eggplants instead of regular size ones, my recipe was basically halved, and my eggplant slices were much smaller. Fine by me, because they tasted great anyways!

VERY IMPORTANT PREP STEP: Peel the eggplants and slice them into 1/4" coins. Salt them and place them in a colander for about a half hour. After that time, rinse and pat them very dry before breading them. Do not skip this!

Here's the recipe per allrecipes.com. You can adjust according to the amount of eggplant you have, how much cheese you want, and how many layers you want. Since I had less, I created two layers in a 9x9 casserole dish instead of using a 9x13. ALSO: You might want to bake the eggplant longer than the recipe calls for; I baked them for 8 minutes on the first side and 10 on the second to ensure golden crisp breading.

Ingredients

• 3 eggplant, peeled and thinly sliced
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 4 cups Italian seasoned bread crumbs
• 6 cups spaghetti sauce, divided
• 1 (16 ounce) package mozzarella cheese, shredded and divided
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Dip eggplant slices in egg, then in bread crumbs. Place in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven for 5 minutes on each side.
3. In a 9x13 inch baking dish spread spaghetti sauce to cover the bottom. Place a layer of eggplant slices in the sauce. Sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Repeat with remaining ingredients, ending with the cheeses. Sprinkle basil on top.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 35 minutes, or until golden brown.