Eggplant Parmesan

I probably was an Italian in my past birth. I can eat pizza, pasta, anything with marinara all days of the week. Eggplant is one of my favorite vegetables. In this preparation it a coated with breadcrumbs and shallow fried till its crunchy. Topped with tomato sauce and cheese it is a hearty dish along with pasta. I usually have this dish in restaurants and love it. Its a little time consuming but worth the effort. 

Ingredients:

10 slices eggplant, cut 1/2 inch thick

1 cup fine bread crumbs (don't use Panko)

1 egg (See note below for vegetarian version)

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon black pepper powder

3 cups marinara

1 cup shredded mozzarella

3 tablespoons Parmesan

1 inch round of spaghetti

3-4 pieces of garlic bread

Salt

Oil to shallow fry

Sprinkle the eggplant slices with salt and leave for 30 minutes over a counter to drip. Pat dry and remove the excess salt. In a shallow flat bowl, beat the egg and in another dish mix the breadcrumbs, and the spices along with the salt. In a non stick frying pan, heat a little oil. Dip the eggplant in the egg and then coat with the seasoned breadcrumbs. Put the slice in the hot oil and cook till golden brown on both sides. Use minimal oil as the eggplant will absorb as much oil as you use to cook. Cook all the slices this way. 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a deep pan, make the marinara. In a casserole dish, layer the bottom with 1 cup of marinara. Layer the eggplant slices next and then 1/3 the mozzarella and third of the Parmesan. Next layer 1 cup marinara, then eggplant and third of the cheeses, then the remaining marinara and finally the remaining cheese.

Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes till the cheese is melted. Cook the spaghetti like in this post. When the parmesan is done, leave it on the counter for 10 minutes to set. Serve hot with spaghetti on the side and garlic bread.

Note: If you don't want to use an egg for coating, use a mixture of 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (maida) in 1 cup of water. 

I am sending this to tobais' 6th Mediterranean Cooking Event - Italy