Sunday, May 10, 2009

Eggplant Parmesan

This recipe is what comfort food is all about for me. I love it and it's always a big crowd pleaser at Christmas dinner.

My best eggplant making tip is to slice the pieces evenly, otherwise the thicker pieces end up being chewy and not cooked through all the way. I like mine to be no more than 1/2 inch thick.




Eggplant Parmesan

2 small eggplant
1 1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
4 eggs
olive oil
2 jars of sauce (Or some of the yummy homemade stuff you made earlier)
8 oz shredded mozzarella and parmesan mix

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix bread crumbs and grated cheese together in a wide bowl. Beat the eggs in a separate bowl.
3. Dip the eggplant rounds first in the bread crumb and cheese mixture, then in the eggs, and finally back into the bread crumb/cheese mixture. The first extra dip allows for better breading coverage. If you need more bread crumb mixture just make sure to use the same ratio of cheese to bread crumbs.
4. Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in large frying pan.
5. Add eggplant making sure the rounds are flat against the pan. You'll probably have to cook them in shifts. Add extra oil as necessary, there should always be a thin layer coating the bottom of the pan. The rounds are done when they are golden brown on both sides.
6. When the rounds finish cooking put one layer in the bottom of a corningware. Then ladle sauce over it and sprinkle about 1/3 of the shredded cheese, depending on how much of a cheese lover you are. After that rinse and repeat (minus the rinsing) until all the eggplant is layered with the sauce and cheese.
7. Put the eggplant uncovered in the oven for about an hour. Cooking time will depend on how thick you cut it. I would start checking on it at around 45 minutes. You will know it's done when you can easily slice through the eggplant, skin and all.

2 comments:

Manju said...

this is like my favouritest (if there is a word like that!) thing on earth!!!

Jen and Emily Cook-Asaro said...

Lol, I guess its a word now. Its definitely one of my favorites too. My family was arguing at christmas about who was going to get to take home the leftovers.