Eggplant Parmesan

I know, I know, it’s another Parmesan recipe. And mine are all pretty much the same. I’m including this one because of the eggplant. It’s an easy dish. There is no salting and draining. You can reduce the ingredient amounts and use a smaller baking dish in order to serve fewer people. It’s simple to make adjustments.

Beat three eggs with 3-4 Tbsp. of water in a flat-bottomed pan, like the pie plate pictured here.

Scoop flour (about a cup) into a flat-bottomed pan like the pie plate pictured here.

Slice two medium eggplants lengthwise into apx. 1/4″ slices. (I used one large eggplant.)

Coat a griddle or large skillet with olive oil and heat on medium high.

Dredge a slice of eggplant through the flour, coating each side of eggplant.

Immerse eggplant slice in egg mixture.

Make sure each side of eggplant is covered with egg mixture.

Move the eggplant slice to the hot griddle.

Turn over once browned. Continue browning eggplant slices, adding olive oil as needed.

Once browned and softened, remove the eggplant slices to a paper-towel-lined plate. Stack the slices in layers on paper towels (to absorb extra oil). Let cool.

I use the whole eggplant, even with the peel on it. It doesn’t matter. As you can see, my slices are not uniform either. It really doesn’t matter.

In the meantime, while the eggplant slices are cooking, fry about a pound of Italian sausage. If you’re serving vegetarians you may skip this step.

Once the sausage is browned, add a jar of pasta sauce (about 24 ounces). I rinse the jar with red wine. Simmer until it is very thick.

Slice about a pound of mozzarella cheese. I like to use fresh mozzarella and this was only 12 ounces, but it was quite enough. I’ve also used shredded Mozzarella, it all works.

In a 9 x 13″ greased baking dish, layer 1/2 of the eggplant slices to cover the bottom of the dish. Like I said earlier, if you want to use a smaller eggplant and less of the other ingredients you could use a 9 x 9″ pan or smaller. This is really not fussy.

Layer 1/2 of the pasta sauce and 1/2 of the Mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle with a bit of grated or shredded Parmesan cheese.

Layer the remaining eggplant slices on top.

Finish up with the remaining sauce and Mozzarella. Sprinkle the top with about 1/2 cup of grated or shredded Parmesan.

Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 45 minutes.

Serves about 6 people.

I served this with shrimp salad and garlic bread. Delicious!