Eggplant Parmesan
Today I’m featuring another recipe from Hubby’s mother. Hubby loves eggplant parm. It’s another one of the things his mom usually makes for us when we’re in town because she knows how much he loves it. Recently, we requested the recipe from her and Hubby made it at home all by himself.
Hubby likes to claim this is a healthy recipe since it’s vegetarian. I would not call this healthy, but it sure is delicious. Hubby used Panko bread crumbs because that’s all I keep in the house. I really this they give a much better texture than regular bread crumbs. If you wanted, you could make this with meat sauce if you feel like it needs some meat. Eggplant is a very meaty vegetables, so I think it’s fine without it.
This recipe also freezes really well. I wish I had thought of that back when we did our kitchen renovation and stocked up on frozen food. Since this makes a whole casserole dish, we ate it for leftovers all week. But if you don’t like leftovers, just portion it out into individual tupperware containers and freeze it after it has cooled completely.
Eggplant Parmesan
Yield: 12 servings
Ingredients:
Sauce (1 large jar or homemade)
1.5 lb. eggplant, look for long slender firm eggplant
2 eggs, beaten
1.5 cups Panko cread crumbs, seasoned with salt and pepper
Cooking oil
1 lb. mozz shredded or thinly sliced
1/4 cup parmesan grated
Directions:
Preheat oven to 425.
Peel eggplant and slice about 1/4 inch thick. Dip into egg and let it drip off, then into bread crumbs. Set aside on a sheet of waxed paper.
Heat a jelly roll pan with enough oil to cover the bottom in the oven. When hot, add eggplant but see sure not to over-crowd the pan. Cook until nice and brown and crispy, then turn. Drain on paper towels.
Turn oven to 400.
Layer in a 13x9 baking dish 1/3 sauce, 1/2 eggplant, 1/2 mozzarella cheese, repeat, end with last 1/3 sauce. Sprinkle parmesan on top.
Bake uncovered for 15-20 min.
Recipe from Hubby's mom
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I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
Jen made the meatballs for our family. She made both regular spaghetti and spaghetti squash for the carb watchers in the family. I chose the spaghetti squash to go with the meatballs and it was delicious! My only dissapointment was there were none left over when I checked the fridge for lunch! I can’t wait to make these!!!
beantownbaker — December 1st, 2013 @ 6:51 pm
Let me know how they turn out for you. I’ve subbed bacon for the prosciutto in the meatballs in the past before. It makes a LOT so be ready for leftovers/
I use a 19 oz package of Johnsonville Italian sausage (hot) for the ground pork and prosciutto when i make these meatballs. The gelatin is a key ingredient (don’t omit).
I grew up in an Italian home and I gotta tell ya this is my go-to recipe for the best meatballs and spaghetti sauce.
Making it this weekend for my manicotti — looking forward to the compliments!
beantownbaker — March 25th, 2014 @ 9:27 pm
So glad you agree that this is a great recipe! The gelatin is definitely a key ingredient.