Eggplant Parm Bake

Laura In The Kitchen
Laura Vitale

Fact:  I’m not a fan of eggplant.  However, my family is.  So being the magnanimous person I am, I make eggplant.  So this is a dish that I’m not qualified to judge.  However, if you ask my daughter, she’ll tell you it was the “best freaking eggplant parm she’s ever had!”  Her words, not mine.  And she’s nothing, if not brutally honest, when it comes to my cooking.  So I’m assuming it was at least “pretty good.”

Just a quick note, while the recipe calls for dredging the eggplant in a flour and egg mixtures, I decided to fry some of the eggplant without dredging it for a few reasons…  For the sake of expediency, because I thought dredging all of the eggplant would make the dish too heavy to digest, and lastly, (and probably the most important reason) I was running out of the egg mixture and didn’t feel like mixing more.  But I also thought it would make a nice contrast in having a combination of how the eggplant was made.

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Ingredients:
1  (32-ounce) can Italian peeled plum tomatoes
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
Salt
3 garlic cloves, sliced or minced
Freshly ground black pepper
4 large eggs
1½ cups freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 cup all-purpose flour
Safflower oil
2 medium eggplants, cut into ¼-inch thick slices
6 fresh basil leaves
8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced thin

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Empty the tomatoes into a bowl and squeeze them with your hands to roughly crush them.

Put a 2-quart saucepan over medium heat.  Add the olive oil, let it heat for 1 minute, then add the onion and ¼ teaspoon salt.  Cook, stirring frequently, until the onion is translucent, 4 to 5 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute longer.

Add the reserved tomatoes, a pinch of salt, and a few grinds of pepper.  Bring to a boil, partially cover, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer for 20 minutes.

While the sauce simmers, prepare the eggplant.  In a shallow bowl, whisk the eggs with ¼ cup of the parmigiano, ¼ teaspoon salt, and a few grinds of pepper.  Put the flour in a shallow bowl or on a plate.

Put the Dutch oven or large (approximately 10-inch) skillet with at least 3-inch sides over medium to medium-high heat.  Add ½ inch of the safflower oil and let it get hot.  (Put the handle end of a wooden spoon into the oil; if the oil bubbles vigorously around the handle, it’s ready.)

Line a baking sheet with paper towels and put near the stove.

Dredge both sides of an eggplant slice in the flour, shaking off any excess,  dip into the egg mixture, and add to the hot oil.  Continue to coat and add eggplant slices until you have filled the pan in a single layer.  Fry until the eggplant is golden brown on both sides, about 2½ minutes per side.  Transfer the eggplant slices to the paper towels to drain as they are done.  Continue to batter and fry the eggplant in batches until it has all been fried, adding oil between batches, as needed, and letting it get hot.

When the sauce it ready, tear the basil leaves into pieces and add them to the sauce.  Season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper.

Preheat the oven to 425°F.  Butter a 9-inch square baking dish.

To assemble the eggplant part, spread 1 cup of the sauce in the bottom of the prepared baking dish.  Arrange one-third of the eggplant slices in the pan to cover the bottom, overlapping them.  Add about one-third of the remaining sauce, half of the mozzarella, and one-third of the remaining parmigiano.  Repeat a second time, layering the eggplant, sauce, mozzarella, and parmigiano.  Top with a final layer of eggplant, the remaining sauce, and the remaining parmigiano.

Bake until the sauce is bubbly and the top is golden, about 20 minutes.  Let cook for 10 to 15 minutes before cutting and serving.

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