Eggplant Parmesan

I love vegetables and fruit. Truthfully, I love nearly all vegetables and fruit. But, unfortunately, eggplant is not one of those vegetables. I know it's healthy, I think it's beautiful and love the color, but I just don't like it. What I dislike isn't the flavor, it's the texture. Cooked eggplant gets soft inside, while the skin stays waxy. HOWEVER, I realized that if the eggplant is sliced thinly and cooked with other things, I don't mind it. In fact, I actually enjoy it!

I used my previous eggplant to make a lasagna, substituting the thinly sliced eggplant for noodles. This week, I used my eggplant to make eggplant Parmesan. And they both were delicious, if I do say so myself!

Eggplant Parmesan

(Yields 4-6 servings)

Ingredients:

• 1 medium eggplant, sliced 3/4 inch thick slices
• 1/2 cup flour
• 2 eggs
• 3-4 cups breadcrumbs
• 1 Tbsp. garlic powder
• 1 Tbsp. onion powder
• 2 tsp. fresh oregano, chopped
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
• 2+ cups tomato sauce
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F 
2. Pour breadcrumbs, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano and Parmesan cheese onto a plate. Stir to combine
3. Pour flour onto a plate; place eggs into a bowl and whisk. Line up your plates: flour then eggs then bread crumbs
4. Dredge each eggplant slice in flour (tap off excess), then dip it in the egg, then dredge in the bread crumb mixture (shake off excess)
5. Heat pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add olive oil (enough to coat pan)
6. Working in batches, cook eggplant slices, flipping once, until golden brown
7. Cover the bottom of a baking dish with some of the tomato sauce. Arrange 1/2 the eggplant slices on top. Cover the eggplant with sauce and mozzarella. Repeat to make an additional layer - ending with sauce and mozzarella.
8. Cover baking dish and bake for 25 minutes. Remove covering and bake 5-10 more minutes, until cheese is hot and beginning to brown
9. Let stand 5 minutes before serving

I don't personally like tomato sauce, so I made half of the eggplant Parmesan with bruchetta in place of tomato sauce. Here's what it looked it:



I also steamed broccoli and made garlic bread. Here's the meal in its entirety:


Enjoy and thanks for reading!