(Mostly) Homemade Eggplant Parm
The use of jarred tomato sauce cuts down on the prep time for this wonderful homemade dish. But you can always make your own, if you prefer. This is a great meal to feed a hungry family or bring to a dinner party as the main entrée. And it’s vegetarian!
Ingredients
- 3-4 large eggplants
- 5 cups panko breadcrumbs or 3.5 cups Italian breadcrumbs
- 8 eggs
- 2 cups flour
- 3 cups vegetable oil (for frying)
- 1 lb shredded parmesan cheese
- 1 lb shredded mozzarella cheese
- 2 24-oz jars Francesco Rinaldi Sweet & Tasty Tomato Sauce
- ½ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley ((optional).)
Instructions
- Slice your eggplants lengthwise in ¼” or slightly smaller planks.
- Salt your eggplant slices gently on both sides
- Place on layers of paper towels to drain.
- Wait 15 minutes.
- In the meantime, prepare your standard breading procedure set-up
- Placing your flour, whisked eggs, and breadcrumbs into three separate shallow containers that are large enough to fit an entire slice of eggplant.
- Carefully dredge each slice in flour, knocking off the excess flour.
- Then gently coat the surfaces of each slice with a thin layer of egg wash (you can add some milk to your eggs if your mixture is too thick)
- Followed by a coating of the breadcrumbs
- You may not use all your breadcrumbs here, but you want to make sure you have enough to finish breading all of your eggplant slices.
- Set aside the prepared slices of eggplant and get your frying oil ready.
- Heat 2 cups of oil in your large frying pan to roughly 350F
- Fry each side of the eggplants in a shallow layer of oil.
- Regulate the heat to avoid the oil from getting too hot and beginning to smoke.
- If you need to cool down your oil or your oil level is getting too low
- Add some more room temperature oil and reheat to 350F.
- Drain the fried slices of eggplant on layers of paper towels.
- Now you can begin your eggplant parm assembly: Start by greasing your 9X13” high-sided casserole baking dish with butter or vegetable oil on the inside.
- Add a thin layer of tomato sauce
- Followed by a layer of fried eggplant slices, followed by parmesan and mozzarella cheese, followed by a pinch of fresh parsley (parsley is optional).
- Repeat this layering process until all your eggplant and sauce has been used up
- Finish with a topping of mostly parmesan cheese.
- Bake covered with foil in a 375F oven for 30 minutes.
- Increase heat to 390F, remove the foil, and bake for an additional 20 minutes
- Until the top layer of parmesan cheese is nicely golden brown
- The casserole is hot all the way through.
- Allow to rest for 30-45 minutes before cutting and serving.
Notes
This dish is amazing re-heated for 3-4 days after you first make it.