Baked Eggplant Parmesan Recipe

Baked Eggplant Parmesan Recipe

Recipe by Paggi Pazzo

Baked Eggplant Parmesan Recipe
Published: September 18, 2011

Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 hour
Yield: 2 servings
Calories per serving: 391
Fat per serving: 18.6g

Ingredients

• 1 eggplant
• 1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 ounces fresh mozzarella
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup grated Reggiano Parmigiano
• 12 ounces crushed tomatoes (San Marzano)
• 2 tablespoons fresh basil
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1 small onion
• 1 small carrot
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper

Cooking Directions

1. To make sauce, chop garlic, basil, and onion finely (if you have sauce, skip this part and go directly to adding sauce to the baking pan)
2. Add olive oil to pot with garlic, onion, pinch of basil, pinch of salt and pepper and cook for 10-15 minutes at low heat
3. Add crushed tomatoes, bay leaves, and carrot (I usually cook my sauce for 3-4 hours but 45 minutes is acceptable in this case as the sauce will cook another 45 minutes in the chicken parmesean)
4. Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees
5. Clean eggplant and peel skin. Then cut into 1/4 inch slices across the eggplant (you can also cut 1/4 thick short pieces)
6. Crack egg into a bowl with a pinch of salt, pepper, and Reggiano Parmigiano. Beat well and then dip eggplant into egg batter and cover on both sides (you can also use a brush to dress the eggplant if bowl is too small to dip eggplant). I prefer not to use this method for Chicken Parmesan because the chicken texture can grab the breadcrumbs without the egg and it’s a little less fattening this way
7. Add sauce to oven pan and smooth around base, then add eggplant cuts
8. Add a light layer of sauce over eggplant and then slice fresh mozzarella over sauce.
9. Add another thicker layer of sauce over fresh mozzarella and then spread Reggiano Parmigiano
10. Cover pan with aluminum foil and place in oven for 45 minutes.
11. Take out of oven and let sit for 5 minutes then serve