Eggplant Parm. What's not to love?
Full of hearty flavor, this dish involves slices of eggplant layered with basil, marinara, mozzarella, and Parmesan cheese.
Recipe here. Check out our versions and give it a shot. You'll be wondering why you didn't make this sooner.
Dan's Version and Comments
Recipe here. Check out our versions and give it a shot. You'll be wondering why you didn't make this sooner.
Dan's Version and Comments
This dish was incredible, and actually somewhat simple to make. I made the sauce from scratch with nothing more than: canned whole tomatoes, garlic, basil, oregano, and some onion. Do yourself a favor and go the extra mile, make your own sauce! Also, don't be stingy and use some shredded Kraft mozzarella nonsense. You need the prime real estate, that fresh mozzarella.
I made the bread crumbs for the eggplant from scratch as well. I blended panko bread crumbs, garlic powder, dried basil, salt and pepper. Magic!
Lastly, make sure you coat your eggplant in salt prior to cooking. Once salted, allow it to sit on a towel, or in my situation, paper towels. This will force the water out of the eggplant allowing for a less firm and more tender eggplant.
Here on KC we have done a lot of recipes, and this ranks in the top 5. You must absolutely make this dish!
Mo's Version and Comments
Eggplant is one of those vegetables that can be the centerpiece of any dinner. Full of bite and flavor, the breaded eggplant does a great job of absorbing the flavors of the sweet tomato and salty cheese.
Tips:
-Slice eggplant lengthwise and layer accordingly. In my opinion this makes for a more impressive presentation and allows flavors to meld better.
-Salting the eggplant is crucial. This takes out excess moisture and makes the eggplant more tender.
-The trickiest part is dredging the eggplant. Instead of frying, we baked ours. This is tricky if you don't have a wire rack. Nonetheless it came out alright but wasn't very crispy. Next time I would probably skip the breading and just do a light fry with flour.
-If you like your Eggplant Parm less wet and goopy be more conservative with your sauce. In the above pictures I used maybe 25% less sauce than what the recipe called.
-Depending on your tastes, feel free to add more or less mozzarella. You can also add provolone, which is also traditionally used in Eggplant Parm.
-Don't skip the basil when layering. It adds a great herbal note to the dish.
-Make your own sauce. Simply simmer pureed San Marzano tomatoes, olive oil or butter, some sugar, and your favorite Italian herbs and spices.
Next week: Greek Yogurt Blueberry Banana Bread!
