26 August 2009

Best Eggplant Parmesan Ever

Tonight I made the best eggplant Parmesan ever. I know you don't believe me, but you gotta try it first. I started experimenting with eggplant parm about 3 years ago, in college. I think I have now perfected my recipe. The secret is that you have to bread and fry the eggplant first so it gets soft inside, but not greasy.

Ingredients

1 eggplant
1 c flour
1.5 c breadcumbs (buy the italian seasoned kind with salt already added)
2 eggs
splash of milk
olive oil
1 jar pasta sauce (whatever you like)
1/2 cup shredded cheese

First you slice the eggplant into about slice short-ways about 1/4-1/2 an inch think (or 1cm which = .39 inches). Then you crack the eggs into a bowl, add a splash of milk, and beat them. You want to line up two more bowls, one with flour and one with breadcrumbs. Then you take the eggplant slices, drop them into the bowl of flour until covered, then into the bowl of egg, and last into the breadcumbs. I do this whole process for each slice individually with a fork because it will make your hands really dirty otherwise.

Once you have breaded the eggplant, heat olive oil in a pan (cover the whole bottom) to medium heat. Once you can flick water on the pan and hear it sizzle, it's hot enough. Then fly the eggplant briefly until the breading is slightly browned. Put the finished ones on a paper towel to dry them. Add more olive oil as needed to keep the pan covered.

Once the eggplant is finished put a bit of the sauce into a large baking dish (I use the biggest one I have, about 13"), and spread it around to cover the bottom. Then layer the eggplant slices on top of each other in the pan. Pour the rest of the pasta sauce on top and spread around evenly. Then sprinkle cheese on top.

Bake in the oven for 35 minutes at 350 degrees, and enjoy!

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