Eggplant Parmesan (Parmigiana di melanzane) is one of my favorite Italian style dishes. It’s also a dish that requires a certain technique to prepare with a crispy texture. Very simply put, the preparation does not include layering with sauce or too much mozzarella cheese.
Once you have tried this preparation, you may find it hard to go back to the traditional “made in the USA” method of layering with sauce at every level.
One tidbit:
When feasible, try to use buffalo mozzarella which is much more tender and far more flavorful than cow’s milk mozzarella. For this recipe, however, I did use fresh cows milk mozzarella.
Are you ready?
Ingredients: Serves 6 with a side pasta
– Flavored Panko Bread Crumbs
-1 LARGE Fresh Eggplant (ends removed)…Sliced rounds 1/4″-3/8 thick…yield about 12-15 pieces
-1 cup Flour (I like unbromated/unbleached and healthier King Arthur flour)
-2 beaten eggs w. 1 Tbsp half & half…add some salt and pepper to this egg mixture
**EVOO (healthier) or Vegetable Oil for frying. If a second frying process is required, remove oil from first fried batch and use new oil
-Fresh Mill Pepper
-Kosher Salt
-Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
-About 1/2 lb. Whole Milk Mozzarella sliced thin
-Your Favorite Tomato or Marinara Sauce
Preparation:
*Preheat oven to 350 degrees
*Slice eggplant in rounds
*Dip in flour (shake off excess flour), then eggs, then bread crumbs and place all of these prepared slices in a single layer on a plate or baking sheet in order to be able to place in hot oil at the same time. This process should take app 6-7 minutes
*Heat oil on medium high
*In the hot oil, place all rounds in fryer at the same time and cook until golden brown on both sides. It’s ok to turn more than once if you have to
*Remove from frying pan and place on paper towels to let excess oil drain off
Salt & Pepper at this time
*Repeat process for more rounds of eggplant if necessary with new oil (I place the used oil in a DRY used can of tomatoes to toss away after it has cooled)
*In a baking tray, place the rounds on the bottom in a single layer…top with a thin slice of mozzarella and a nice dose of fresh grated Parmigiano Reggiano…and repeat once more so there are two layers
*Place just one or two (to suite your taste) Tbsp of your favorite marinara or tomato sauce on top of stack and bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes or until cheese on top is melted and turning golden…then broil for about 3 more minutes until just starting to turn brown
*Remove from oven. If you so choose, you can then add more sauce sparingly on top or place sauce on a plate and sit the stack on top of the sauce.
Serve with fresh grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano
**EVOO=Extra Virgin Olive Oil
The use of salt and pepper is to suit your taste, thus there is no instruction for it’s use.
Mangia Baby!
Bert
As usual, please feel free to comment with ideas or suggestions…or to share your own recipe…
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