Eggplant Parmesan, le deuxieme

So the tomato sauce was a success, but now came the actual eggplant parmesan. I was pretty worried about it since I've never cooked with eggplant before, and we were having people over for dinner, but I since the eggplants were also creepily watching me, I decided to take the plunge.

First I peeled and cut the eggplant into 1/4 inch slices. I salted the eggplant and laid it out on paper towels to dry. After fifteen minutes or so I flipped them, salted the other side, and let them dry out for another fifteen minutes. Then I rinsed the salt off and patted them dry. After they were dry I dredged them in egg substitute and then Italian bread crumbs. I baked them at 350 degrees for fifteen minutes, flipped them and baked another fifteen minutes til they were crispy on the outside and soft in the middle.

Then I layered the eggplant with the tomato sauce from my last post, ricotta cheese, extra breadcrumbs, and shredded mozzarella cheese. I baked it all together for about 25 minutes until the cheese got all melty. The end result was creamy, crunchy, garlicky, cheesy and kinda messy, but served over home-made egg noodles (yes I did go all Martha Stewart this weekend!) it was fantastic.

Eggplant Parmesan

(from Chef to the Rescue by Cat Cora)

2 large eggplants

1 cup egg substitute (or 3 beaten eggs)

2 cups italian bread crumbs

1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

3-4 cups tomato sauce

2 cups shredded cheese, mozzarella or provolone

1 cup ricotta cheese

Slice, salt, and dry the eggplants according to the directions above. Place the egg substitute in one shallow dish, and the bread crumbs in another. Dredge the eggplant slices in the egg and then in the bread crumbs, coating both sides. (Save any remaining breadcrumbs). Bake the eggplant slices for fifteen minutes on each side at 350 degrees.

In a medium-sized casserole dish ladle 1/3 of the tomato sauce. Top with half of the eggplant slices, overlapping slices slightly if necessary, then top with half the ricotta cheese, half the remaining bread crumbs, and half the shredded cheese. Repeat layers, ending with the shredded cheese again.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until the cheese is all melty and golden and perfect. Serve with pasta.