Tomato Mountain

Easy Eggplant Parmesean

Note: Photo is of a vegan-ified version. It included an Ener-G Egg Replacer egg and more herbed bread crumbs in place of the cheese.

from Maggie

Ingredients:

 Eggplants

 2 eggs

 2 cups flour

 2 cups bread crumbs

 Seasoning to taste

 Cooked spaghetti, rice, or sautéed greens

 Tomato sauce

 Parmesan or other Italian cheeses

You’ll need one large flat dish, three medium sized bowls or pie pans, and some baking pans or cookie sheets.  First, cut up the eggplant into 1/8 to ¼ inch slices.  

Salt the bottom of the large bowl and add layers of the slices and salt. Let it sit for 30 minutes to allow the salt to penetrate into the eggplant and draw out moisture. This improves the texture and taste of eggplant. Rinse the slices of eggplant of excess salt.  

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Set up the three medium sized bowls or pie pans in this order:  flour, beaten eggs, and seasoned bread crumbs. Lightly oil the baking pan and set at the end of the eggplant assembly line. First coat a slice in flour, next dip in the egg, and then coat in bread crumbs. Set directly in the pan in a single layer. The amount of egg, flour, and bread crumbs you’ll need depends on the size of the eggplant(s) and how much you are making. One medium sized eggplant makes about three servings.  Cook them at 400 for about 10-15 minutes on each side; this gets the outside nice and crispy.  When done, pile a plate with spaghetti (or rice or sautéed greens), add a few slices of eggplant, pour on some sauce, and top with your favorite Italian cheeses. 

I like to make a lot of eggplant parmesan in the summer and freeze it for the rest  of the year. When doing this, cook the eggplant in the oven for only 5-10 minutes  on each side. Place the eggplants on the cookie sheet in the freezer until frozen and then throw them in a freezer bag. When reheating, put the frozen slices in the oven and cook for about 10-15 minutes on each side. It tastes wonderfully  fresh! I get the best compliments from guests about this simple dish all year long!