Prime Cuts

A good friend of Caminito and of the blog, Stephanie Gurtman (one of the super forces behind InternshipRatings.com), asked if we could put together a simple guide to making eggplant parmigiana.  Of course, we’re always happy to oblige!   Eggplant parmigiana can be one of those simple but tricky dishes to make because of how moist eggplant is.  If not done correctly the eggplant will be mushy and not fry properly.  For anyone that has had this happen to them before, we hope this guide/recipe will help the next time you decide to make eggplant parmigiana.

Eggplant Parmigiana

Ingredients

2 large purple eggplants
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup fine dry breadcrumbs (plain or flavored)
4 medium-large eggs, beaten
1-1.5lbs fresh mozzarella, sliced into thin rounds
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (fresh, preferred)
1 package fresh basil leaves, rough chopped
Favorite tomato-based sauce (homemade = extra points!)
Kosher salt
Black pepper
Olive oil or vegetable oil

Preparation

1. Cut eggplant in 1/4″ round cross-section slices.  Arrange slices on a cooling rack along with a baking sheet underneath cooling rack.
2. Sprinkle eggplant with kosher salt.  Allow to rest on cooling rack for approximately 15 minutes to pull the moisture out of the eggplant.
3. Brush off excess salt, flip over, brush with kosher salt again and allow to rest for another 15 minutes on the cooling rack.  After 15 minutes, brush off the excess salt again.
4. Set up a simple standard breading station consisting of beaten eggs in one dish and combination of all-purpose flour and dry breadcrumbs in another.
5. Put tomato sauce on low-medium heat to begin cooking. Cover.
6. Begin heating oil in either a deep skillet or a deep-fryer (if available).
7. Dredge the individual slices of eggplant in the beaten egg then into the breadcrumb/flour mixture.  Once you dredge a slice, go back through again by dipping into egg then breadcrumb/flour mixture again.  This will create a double breading on the eggplant.
8. Once oil is hot enough, pan fry or deep-fry the slices of eggplant until crispy and golden brown.  Be careful when working with hot oil and don’t add too many slices at a time.  Adding to many slices at once can cause the oil to pop and become unstable (depending on the amount of moisture in the eggplant) and/or lower the overall heat of the oil thus making the eggplant not cook properly and become soggy.
9. Once crispy and golden brown, remove from oil and place on paper towels to soak some of the oil.  Sprinkle kosher salt and black pepper immediately after coming out of oil.
10. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
11. In a glass baking dish  put some of the tomato sauce in the bottom of the dish, enough to cover.  Then place a layer of eggplant across the sauce.  Place some of the slices of mozzarella cheese on top.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and rough chopped basil leaves.  Add another layer of eggplant, some tomato sauce and repeat steps.  If there is enough eggplant left, make a third layer.
12. Once oven is pre-heated place glass baking dish into oven for approximately 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted, lightly brown and bubbly.
13. Serve either by itself or with your favorite pasta.

Enjoy!

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Photo by: mhaithaca