I’m always looking for new and interesting dinner options, and of course they MUST be quick and easy. As a mostly vegetarian household, eggplant parmesan is one of our favorites. If you’ve ever made it the traditional way you know how messy it can get. Deep frying each eggplant slice is a complete nightmare when it comes to clean up. Enter a new, easier way of making this dish! Plus I think you’ll thoroughly enjoy my seasoning twist on this classic. This dish serves approximately 4.
Ingredients:
1 Eggplant (about 3 inches round and 8 inches long)
2 Eggs
1/2 cup Bread Crumbs
1/4 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese (extra 1/4 cup for layers)
1 tsp Salt (extra for sweating the Eggplant)
1/2 tsp Pepper
1 jar Good Marinara Sauce
8 oz. Mozarella Cheese (thinly sliced)
1 tsp. Tuscan Sun Artisan Blend
Cooking Spray
Directions:
Slice eggplant into 1/4 inch slices and layout on your baking sheet. Lightly salt each side and place in a colander with a heavy bowl set on top to weight the eggplant down and allow to sweat for approximately 30-45 minutes in the sink. Once they have released their liquid, pat dry with paper towels and set aside.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. For the breading, in one dish lightly beat the eggs and in another dish mix together bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Spray your cooking sheet liberally with the cooking spray. Dip each eggplant slice in the egg, coating completely and then lay in the bread crumb mixture and coat completely. Set on baking sheet and continue until all eggplant slices are coated and ready. Bake one side in the oven for 5 minutes and then turn over and bake an additional 5-10 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oven.
Reduce oven heat to 350 degrees F. In an 8×8 baking dish, scoop enough marinara into the dish to coat the bottom. Begin creating 4 different stacks starting with an eggplant slice, then a mozzarella slice, marinara sauce and sprinkle of parmesan cheese. Continue until you’ve created about 4 layers. Top each stack with a mozzarella slice and then sprinkle with the Tuscan Sun Artisan Blend.
Bake uncovered for 30-35 minutes, or until mozzarella topping is golden brown. Allow to set for a few moments and serve.
