Recipe: Eggplant Parmigiano

This recipe for Eggplant Parmigiano is absolutely delicious….I grew up in New York… most of my good friends were Italian… so I enjoyed the Italian foods my friends’ Moms made. Eggplant Parmigiano is high on that list. It really isn’t difficult to make.

You have to slice and bread the eggplant…. then traditionally it’s fried in olive oil. I will include the traditional instructions…. but I will also include a way of baking it with minimal oil. I found that when I fried the eggplant, the eggplant absorbed a lot of oil…. trying to be heart healthy… I came up with a way of baking it… and just spraying them with olive oil cooking spray. They tend to be drier… but it really doesn’t matter since you place them in a baking dish and smother them with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese…. the end result… is excellent… with a fraction of the fat content.

I used individual baking dishes in the picture above.

Manga!







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Eggplant Parmigiano Recipe

All you need:

2 medium size eggplants, peeled and sliced 1/8 to ¼ inch thick
3 eggs or egg substitute
Dash of milk
Flour seasoned with salt, pepper and 1 teaspoon garlic powder (about 1 1/2-2 cups)
2 cups Italian Bread Crumbs
½ cup olive oil (if frying)
Tomato Sauce
Mozzarella cheese, shredded
Parmesan cheese, shredded

All you need to do:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Peel and slice eggplant.

Prepare the seasoned flour.

Whisk the egg and milk in a medium bowl.

Pour Italian seasoned bread crumbs into a plate or wide bowl.

Dredge the slices in the flour…. Then dip them into the egg mixture and then dredge in the bread crumbs.

If frying…. Heat a large skillet with the olive oil in it over medium heat. Fry the eggplant… you will need to do this in batches…. until golden brown. Drain on paper towel.

If baking… line a cookie sheet with foil and spray with olive oil cooking spray. You will need 2 cookie sheets or bake in batches.

Lay the eggplant in a sinle layer on the cookie sheet…. Lightly spray the tops of the eggplant with olive oil.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes then flip the eggplant slices and spray the tops with olive oil….bake for another 10 minutes.

In a 9x13 baking dish or individual baking dishes… spoon some tomato sauce on the bottom of the dish(es)…..

Lay the eggplant in a single layer on the dish… overlapping slightly if needed.

Spoon some tomato sauce over the eggplant slices…

Sprinkle heavily with shredded mozzarella cheese and shredded parmesan cheese.

Make another layer following the same instructions.

Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees F.

Uncover and cook for an additional 15 minutes or until cheese begins to brown and the sauce is bubbling.