Eggplant Parmesan

Yields: 6 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 large eggplant or 2 medium eggplants

• kosher salt

• Breading mixture:

  • Panko bread crumbs

  • 3 cups of AP flour

  • 2 tablespoons of dried oregano

  • 2 beaten eggs

  • 2 tsp salt

• olive oil

• mozzarella slices

• shredded fresh parmesan

• fresh basil

• marinara sauce

Assembly:

1. Mix breading mixture except the two eggs in a bowl. Beat the eggs in a separate bowl.

2. Slice up eggplant into 1 cm thick circles. Lay these pieces out on a cooling rack or paper towel and sprinkle salt over them to draw out the water. Leave them out to do this for 30 min-1 hr to make sure all excess moisture comes out.

1. It would be preferable to have 24 eggplant slices since each eggplant parm ‘tower’ will have an even number of slices.

3. Take out a sheet pan and put a piece of parchment paper on it and preheat oven to 400° F.

1. Might need two sheets depending on how big your eggplant slices are.

4. Dredge the pieces of the eggplant into the egg mixture and then the dry mixture.

5. Bake these breaded eggplant slices at 400° F for 20 min flipping the slices 1/2 way through baking.

6. While the eggplant slices are baking, take out a 13” x 9” baking pan and grease the bottom and sides with olive oil.

7. Once the eggplant slices are done, it’s time to assemble the parm towers.

1. Pour marinara sauce on the bottom of the 13” x 9” pan.

2. Next place six slices of eggplant (3 in one row, 3 across the next) in the pan. Put another tablespoon of marinara sauce on each of the slices of eggplant and then mozzarella and parmesan on top.

3. After this first layer, repeat these steps for the next few layers until all the eggplant slices are used (the process is similar to making a lasagna).

4. Top off with an extra layer of parmesan on top and bake at 400° F for 20-25 min.

5. Garnish with finely sliced basil leaves.

Enjoy!