Boyfriend Approved Eggplant Parmesan

My mom has been growing a plethora of veggies in her summer garden as far back as I can remember. I frequently dreaded the weekends because I knew while my mother crouched in the dirt among tomato, cucumber, pepper and zuccchini plants I would inevitably be on house phone duty.  This required me to answer the phone politely and bring it outside to the garden where my mom knelt, covered in dirt and sweat. Answering the phone was only half the battle. I also had to keep a never ending supply of ice water ready. I wish I knew how many times I walked up and down the steps of our deck with gallon sized thermos' filled with either too much ice and not enough water or too much water and not enough ice. I never wanted to help plant or pick anything. Too much dirt, too many bugs and for what, vegetables? Yeah, I don't think so. Well, I'm eating my words now (and some yummy tomatoes thanks to my garden and a kind neighbor).   

This year eggplant made his/her first appearance in my mother's garden. As usual she plants so much of everything she and my dad can never eat it all so neighbors and family members benefit greatly. My mom brought some of her eggplants with her when she visited me last. Having no memory of eating eggplant in the past (how shameful) I was weary, and decided those purple suckers needed to be fried, smothered in cheese and tomato sauce at the very least. Thus, eggplant parm. Sorry the above photo is blurry. The eggplants wouldn't quit rolling around on my cutting board. I showed them!

I didn't think to consult a recipe. I'm sure I have an old family recipe lying about somewhere, but I came home from work starving, and there was no time to be thumbing through recipe cards. I would likely become distracted and eventually end up starving to death or making dessert instead of dinner. 

I cut the eggplant into, I don't know, 1/4 in. rounds and then treated it like chicken cutlets and proceeded to dredge and bread it.

 

 Coat each eggplant round in flour, then egg and finally seasoned bread curmbs ( I added a tablespoon of dried oregano to the already seasoned bread crumbs btw). And you thought your cake tins were just for cakes!

 Your eggplant should look like this when your finished. 

And your fingers should look like this, well at least on one hand. Beware of "THE CLAW!"

Add some olive oil and butter to a frying pan. When the butter begins to foam add the eggplant rounds. Be careful not to over crowd the pan. You want the eggplant to brown and become crispy on the outside not to steam (which is what will happen if you cram a bunch in at a time).

Once they have browned nicely on each side, set them on a plate to cool while you get the sauce ready. Side note- I decided to be brave and give the eggplant a try after I pan fired them. Let's just say they were lucky to meet cheese and sauce. Cory and I could have finished them off just like that. FYI you don't have to take the skins off (I didn't my first time) but I think I will next time (it's a texture thing).

For the sauce:

Add a glug of olive oil and a little butter to a heavy bottomed pot along with 1 big sweet onion, chopped. Add some kosher salt (to help the onions soften) and some crushed red pepper flakes (1/2-1tsp depending on your preference).  Once the onions have become translucent add 5, or so, cloves of smashed garlic. Stir until garlic is fragrant then add 2 28oz. cans whole tomatoes. I prefer san marzao but Wegman's brand is a close second for sure!  Add a big handful of fresh basil and let the sauce simmer and thicken slightly. 

 Since I was in a hurry, and feeling pretty lazy after work, I didn't chop everything perfectly. I just submerged my immersion blender in the pot until the sauce was smooth. 

Assembly:

Place your eggplant rounds in a pan. I had to whip out my obviously too big for this job roaster. My 9x13/13x9 pan was currently housing a batch of brownies.

I added some provolone and mozzarella cheese then sauce then more cheese to the tops of the eggplant and popped them in a 350 degree oven.

This is the boyfriend approved end result. Cory and I both lovveed this dinner. After one bite we looked at each other with big eyes and I said something along the lines of "shut the front door!" It's realllyy yummy. I am an official fan of eggplant.

I found this recipe to be a good guideline. In my experience this was an easy breezy dinner. I even had sauce left over. I'll let you know what happened with it tomorrow. ~L