Eggplant Parmesan

We got our first eggplant from the garden and Bev wanted to turn them into eggplant parmesan.  Normally we don’t go with the baked version but go the easy route, but this time she wanted to go all out.  After looking at several on-line recipes she settled on this recipe from Taste Of Home, mostly because it had the most cheese.  She made the full sauce recipe and half the other parts and below is as she made it.

Eggplant Parmesan – adapted

Ingredients:

SAUCE:

•3 garlic cloves, minced

•1/3 cup olive oil

•2 qts..home canned tomatoes – drained
•1 cup pitted ripe olives, chopped
•1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil leaves or 1 tablespoon dried basil
•3 tablespoons capers, drained
•1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
•1/4 teaspoon pepper

EGGPLANT:

•1 cup all-purpose flour
•4 eggs, beaten
•3 cups dry bread crumbs
•1 tablespoon garlic powder
•1 tablespoon minced fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried oregano
•4 small eggplants (about 1 pound each), peeled and cut lengthwise into 1/2-inch slices
•1 cup olive oil

CHEESE:

•2 eggs, beaten
•2 cartons (15 ounces each) ricotta cheese
•1-1/4 cups shredded Parmesan cheese, divided
•1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh basil leaves or 2 tablespoons dried basil
•1/2 teaspoon pepper
•8 cups (32 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Directions:

•After slicing, lighty salt the eggplant on both sides and drain in a colander for an hour then pat dry with paper towels.

•In a Dutch oven over medium heat, cook garlic in oil for 1 minute. Stir in the tomatoes and puree roughly with a hand blender.  Add the olives, basil, capers, pepper flakes and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 45-60 minutes or until thickened.
• Meanwhile, for eggplant, place flour and eggs in separate shallow bowls. In another bowl, combine the bread crumbs, garlic powder and oregano. Dip eggplant in the flour, eggs, then bread crumb mixture.

• In a large skillet, cook eggplant in batches in oil until golden brown and drain on wire rack.
• In a large bowl, combine the eggs, ricotta, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, basil and pepper.
• In a greased 8" x 11" baking dish, layer 1/3 of tomato sauce, half the eggplant slices, 1 cup ricotta mixture, half the remaining parmesan, and 6 slices provolone cheese. Repeat layers ending with the last 1/3 of the sauce, but add the top layer of cheese about 10 minutes before finished cooking.
• Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until bubbly. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting. Yield: 1 casserole (8 servings each).

Cooks Notes - For the 1 1/2 cups of dried bread crumbs, she used 1 cup fresh bread crumbs, 1/3 cup Panko, and  potato flakes on top of the panko to make 1/2 cup.  The potato flakes are supposed to help it adhere better to the eggplant.

Since the outdoor temps have been hovering around 100*, we decided to do as much as possible outside on the grill, beginning with frying the eggplant in olive oil.

After Bev built the casserole, we cooked it on the grill by having the two burners under it on low and the ones on each side on high generating a 350* temp.  The casserole dish was on a rack on a jelly roll pan which made it very oven like.

When it was nearly done, she added additional provolone to the top to melt, along with some fresh chopped basil.

This is my first helping.

It was absolutely delicious and I look forward to the next time – company quality for eggplant lovers with one change.  We used provolone throughout  because it was on hand, but the top layer got tough and we’ll top with mozzarella next time.

All photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

One year ago:  Ready To Travel

Two years ago:  A Very Berry Breakfast

Larry

7/2/12 Meal date