Eggplant Parmesan

Eggplant is one of those vegetables that people seem to either really like or really dislike as it has the propensity to be a little on the bitter side for some. My husband and I fall into the "like" category. Our four kids are in the "dislike" category (although one child had to admit tonight that paired with pasta and spaghetti sauce, it really wasn't all that bad).

Tonight I decided to make eggplant parmesan for dinner. In the past, I've pan-fried the eggplant slices, but sometimes that seems to make them feel heavy and taste a bit greasy as they tend to absorb most of the oil while they fry up and the oil can also start to smoke if the temp gets a little too warm. So instead, I ventured out on a limb and tried a new-to-me way to cook up the eggplant and it turned out great! It's also probably a bit healthier as it is baked rather than fried.

Ingredients:

1 or 2 eggplants--they should be firm rather than soft, and have a nice, smooth skin
mayonnaise
seasoned bread crumbs (I made my own)
spaghetti sauce (again, I made my own, but any kind would work well)
mozzarella cheese
pasta (I used vermicelli)

Oven Temp: 350 degrees
Baking Time: 40 minutes total

Wash up the eggplant. Go ahead and peel it if you so desire. I kept the skin on as I think it probably contains a lot of great nutrients with the dark color. (The skin was not at all tough after baking.) Then cut it into about 1/2" rounds.

Place a blob of mayo in a small bowl (maybe 1/2 c. or so?) and have a second bowl that has your seasoned breadcrumbs in it.

Take a slice of eggplant and dip it in the mayo, lightly coating each side of the slice, then place it in the breadcrumbs and coat both sides generously.

Place the eggplant slices on a baking sheet. (I did prep my baking sheets by using parchment paper lightly sprayed with non-stick spray.)

Once all your eggplant slices are coated, pop them in the oven and set the timer for 20 minutes.

In the meantime, you will want to get the rest of your ingredients ready to go for the meal--start heating the water for the pasta, get your sauce ready, etc.

After 20 minutes, you'll flip the eggplant slices (I use tongs to flip mine) so that the other side gets toasted.

Place them back in the oven and bake for an additional 20 minutes.  When they are done, pull them out and you'll see that they are a dark golden color as well as very tender.

At this point, I sprinkled a little mozzarella cheese on top of the slices.

The mozzarella melted nicely on top of the eggplant, although I wanted to give them one extra blast in the oven to really make them great. I simply turned the oven to its broil setting and baked the eggplant for 1 minute so that the cheese turned golden brown.

By this point, your pasta should be cooked up and ready to be drained so that you can serve up the rest of the meal. Throw down a layer of pasta on the plate, add your sauce, and then top with as many eggplant slices as you would like. Hope you enjoy it!