Crispy Eggplant Parmesan

Before this recipe I had never tried Eggplant Parmesan (in all honesty, I had never eaten eggplant at all) and so when a friend gave me one of her eggplants, fresh from her garden, I decided to see why people actually like it so much.  (I mean it’s a weird, squeaky veggie in place of meat.)  Everyone told me how much they love Eggplant Parmesan, and so as I was searching for a great recipe online, I found this one that the people raved about in the reviews, and now I see why.  It was really delicious, and to tell you the truth, I absolutely loved the eggplant in it!  I even preferred it over chicken (although my husband will always prefer everything with meat:)

One note I will add about this recipe is that in the end, there wasn’t enough sauce to use for our pasta as well.  I added some of our favorite tomato-basil pasta sauce from a jar to eat over our pasta. (We like a lot of sauce in our family.)  So if you’re planning on eating it with pasta, I would either double the sauce or have an extra jar on hand if you need more.

Crispy Eggplant Parmesan

Adapted from Food Network.com

Ingredients:

1 tbsp. canola oil

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1/2 tbsp. chopped garlic

Dash red pepper flakes (to taste- I like it less spicy)

1 tsp. Italian seasoning

½ can crushed tomatoes (or 2-3 fresh tomatoes)

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup flour

1 egg

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup dried Italian bread crumbs or Panko mixed with Italian seasonings

1/4 cup cornmeal

2 tbsp. grated Parmesan, divided

1 eggplant

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

2-3 tbsp. chopped fresh basil

Directions:

In a large pot over medium-high heat, add the canola oil. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for 1 minute. Add the 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning, tomatoes and season with salt and pepper, to taste Bring to a simmer and let cook for 10 minutes. . (I used fresh tomatoes and allowed to simmer for 30 minutes.  I also added fresh basil.)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Set up a breading station using 3 baking dishes. In the first dish, add the flour and season with salt and pepper, to taste. In the second dish whisk the eggs with 1/4 cup water. In the third dish combine the bread crumbs, cornmeal, 1 tablespoon Parmesan and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Slice the eggplant into 3/4-inch slices. Dredge them in flour, then in the egg wash and then in the bread crumbs.

Set a cooling rack on top of a cookie sheet and arrange the eggplant slices on the cooling rack.  Bake in oven until crispy, about 30-35 minutes

Turn the oven to broil. Put the eggplant, overlapping, into a baking dish. Cover eggplants with about a cup of sauce and sprinkle with the mozzarella cheese and remaining tablespoon of Parmesan. Put under the broiler until the cheese is melted and bubbling, about 3 to 4 minutes. For last minute under broiler, sprinkle fresh basil on top to garnish.

Serve over linguine pasta with remaining sauce.  Enjoy!