Dinner Tonight

     Earlier I decided to fry up an eggplant for dinner tonight.   I have had a craving for eggplant parmesan so yeah let’s do this! 

      One of the first things I like to do, is cut my eggplant and soak the pieces in salt water for about 5-10 minutes.  This takes away the bitterness. 

     I like to use Italian breadcrumbs, Italian seasonings, and fresh finely shredded parmesan cheese to coat my eggplant.  I also do the first dip in flour, then egg and milk bath, and then breadcrumbs mixture. 

     The cast iron skillet is my favorite place to fry them up with a little olive oil.  I make sure they’re golden brown and when finished I let cool until I can handle them. 

     For tonight’s eggplants parmesan I made gnocchi, extra sauce, and creamy leeks.  In the past we have just done a salad and a pasta of our choice.   I will say that the creamy leeks add a nice balance to the eggplant parmesan and gnocchi.  In some dishes I find the creamy leeks too rich but not with this dish tonight.

Eggplant Parmesan

Ingredients

• 1 medium sized eggplant
• 6 tbsp fresh shredded parmesan cheese
• 2 cups Italian breadcrumbs
• 1 tbsp Italian seasonings
• 2 cups flour
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1 jar Rao’s marinara
• 4 cups shredded mozzarella

Directions

1. Start by cutting your eggplant.  I like to cut them length-wise but you can cut them in circles also.  After the pieces are cut place them in salt water to soak for 5-10 minutes.  They like to float so I rotate the top to the bottom often.
2. Whisk two eggs and milk together in shallow dish.  Place flour in another shallow dish.  In the third dish mix breadcrumbs, Italian seasonings, and 4 tbsp of the parmesan cheese in a third shallow dish. 
3. Heat pan to medium heat, once hot, pour olive oil in pan and make sure bottom is covered.
4. Remove bottom eggplant slice from water, and dredge in flour.  Next the egg mixture, and then finally coated in the breadcrumb mixture.
5. Now to the pan, I turn it to medium-low while I’m doing this process so they don’t burn.  It can be a lot to handle.
6. I keep an eye on the eggplant and flip when it becomes golden brown.
7. When ready to remove from pan I place on a plate with a paper towel to drain excess oil.
8. When cool enough to handle I start my assembly by first putting a couple spoonfuls of sauce on the bottom of my 9×13 glass oven dish and use the spoon to spread it all over the bottom of the dish.
9. Next I place slices in the pan so that the bottom is covered.  Then I put a little sauce, parmesan, and mozzarella on top of each piece.  And then I repeat until there’s no eggplant left.  All remaining cheese goes on top!!!
10. I put aluminum foil on top and bake at 375° for 30 minutes.   Then I remove the foil and bake another 5-8 minutes.