Eggplant Parmesan

It was a rushed night, but Gary and I managed to cook up a new recipe we found on Pinterest for Eggplant Parmesan! Because of the rush though, we didn't really have much time for pictures, not to mention that we had to ask the man of the house to finish up.

So here's how it all went down. We started by mincing the garlic and heating it up, adding the diced tomatoes (didn't use enough, I think) and fresh basil - Yes, we bought fresh basil this week! While it was cooking, we sliced the eggplant and - oh crap, we're out of eggs!! At this point, everything was already on the go and we couldn't very well just leave the house (home alone this afternoon) so we texted Mr. Man and asked if he could pick up a dozen eggs on his way home. To kill some time after everything was ready, except the eggs, I asked Gary to help me shovel in the backyard to get the car out of the snow from Saturday's storm, but he wasn't too excited by the idea. I went outside by myself and came back in to continue our cooking adventure once the man got home with the eggs.

Now that we had all the ingredients, we started dipping the eggplant slices into flour, eggs, and breadcrumbs/cheese mixture. These need to be baked by themselves first, so we threw them in and put the timer on. But at this point, I was running out of time so I passed on the cooking responsibility to my main man. Gary tried to be patient with him, and I think it all turned out quite well! Here is the final result:

"This vegetarien thing ain't so bad when your girlfriend is an amazing cook" - Richard's words, not mine!

Eggplant Parmesan

Makes 4-6 servings

Total time: Approximately 1 hour

Ingredients:

• 1 large eggplant, sliced
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 28-ounce can diced tomatoes with their juices (or more, depending how much sauce you would like)
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped (or less, depending how much sauce you end up with - eyeball it)
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 3/4 cup breadcrumbs - we used cornflake crumbs instead, tasted great!
• 1/8 cup Parmesan cheese + 1/2 cup more for toppings 
• 1/4 cup flour, or more if needed
• 2 eggs, beaten, or more if needed
• Olive oil or non-stick spray for bottom of pan

Directions:

1. Slice eggplant 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch thick rounds. 
2. Heat the olive oil on medium heat. Add the minced garlic and gently cook for 1 minute, or until fragrant. Add the tomatoes and their juices. Increase heat to bring to a simmer, then lower heat to maintain a very low simmer for 15 minutes, uncovered. Add pepper to taste. Add the basil and remove from heat. 
3. Combine the breadcrumbs with 1/8 cup of Parmesan cheese and place in a shallow bowl or rimmed dish. Set up your station so that you have flour in one shallow bowl, beaten eggs in another, and breadcrumbs/Parmesan mixture in the third, in that order. 
4. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Spread olive oil or non stick spray onto two baking sheets. Working one at a time, dredge the eggplant slices first in flour, then in eggs, and lastly in breadcrumb and cheese mixture. Place on oiled pan. Drizzle a little oil over each breaded eggplant slice.
5. Place both baking sheets in oven and cook for 18 to 20 minutes. Turn over slices half-way through (if you don't forget), and remove from oven once browned. 
6. Spread a small amount of the tomato-basil sauce onto the bottom of a casserole dish. Place half of the eggplant rounds in the dish in a single layer, covering the sauce in the bottom of the pan. Layer half of the mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese onto these slices, followed by half of the remaining tomato-basil sauce. Cover these with the second half of the eggplant slices, and cover again with remaining cheese and sauce. 
7. Bake uncovered for 25-30 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes before serving. 

Original recipe found at: Simply Recipes