Baked Eggplant Parmesan
I discovered this recipe last summer, when our CSA box was filled with more eggplant than we knew what to do with. After the first batch, I quickly made several more to stock up our freezer for the eggplantless winter months ahead. We gobbled through out freezer stash of eggplant parm in short order, then I made more with somewhat horrific-looking January eggplant from the grocery store. And guess what? Even that stuff was good.
And yet, here I am, almost a year later, and only now am I putting it here. I can be a bit slow sometimes. But see, this is one of the things that I tucked away in the freezer to prepare for the baby coming (you know, so we aren’t restricted to eating entirely one-handed foods). So, having pulled it out and baked it up for dinner, I’m remembering all over again how much I love this recipe. (I’m also kicking myself for taking such terrible pictures a month ago. Ah, well.) And not just because it’s so convenient that it freezes nicely without turning to mush. I love it because it tastes so good.
The components of this are crazy simple. Rounds of eggplant, dredged in a light crumb coating and baked up with a drizzle of olive oil until golden and crispy. Your favorite simple tomato sauce, fragrant and flavorful. And of course, the gooey, bubbly mozzarella. Doesn’t get much better than that. I think the simplicity of the ingredients is what makes this so good. You can actually taste the eggplant when it’s baked like this. Often, I have eggplant parmesan that’s dense, because it’s fried and the slices are stacked one on top of the other. I get that that’s the traditional way to make it, and when it’s done well it’s amazing. But too often, it’s not. It’s a hard thing to get right, frying eggplant. At least in my experience. Baking it, however, has never disappointed me. I think one of the keys to get a satisfying breading on the eggplant is to really coat the baking sheet well with olive oil. Be generous. If you don’t get enough olive oil in the mix, you get that dry breadcrumb texture going on, which I seriously hate. None of that here. Golden, crispy perfection.
I debated giving you a tomato sauce recipe to go along with this, but the truth is I’ve made it with all kinds of different sauces and it turned out well each time. I will say, however, that simpler is better. The best sauce I’ve used with this was one I made using a can of San Marzano tomatoes, a few cloves of garlic, a couple glugs of olive oil, and salt and pepper. It was tasty, and really let the eggplant shine. Second place goes to Butter Onion Tomato Sauce. But, heck, there are LOTS of great tomato sauces that you can buy at the store, too. Use what you’ve got.
Ok, I’ve said my piece about Eggplant Parm. Back to mama duty. I promise I’ll be back with some good cooking’ (that wasn’t done a month ago) soon.
Notes
*If you're going to put a batch of this in the freezer, let the eggplant cool after it's been baked. Then arrange it in the dish or pan and freeze the pieces. Once they're frozen through, top with the sauce and cheese, wrap well with plastic wrap, and put back in the freezer. When you are ready to eat it, following the baking instructions, but add a bit more time, probably 20-30 minutes. Just remember to take off the plastic wrap before you bake it!
Ingredients
- Olive oil, for baking sheets
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 3/4 cup finely grated Parmesan, plus 2 tablespoons for topping
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- Coarse salt and ground pepper
- 2 large or 3 medium eggplants (2- 2 1/2 pounds total), peeled and sliced into 1/2-inch rounds
- 4 cups (48 ounces) your favorite tomato sauce
- 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brush 2 baking sheets with oil; set aside. In a wide, shallow bowl, whisk together eggs and 2 tablespoons water. In another shallow bowl, combine breadcrumbs, 3/4 cup Parmesan, oregano, and basil; season with salt and pepper.
- Dip eggplant slices in egg mixture, letting excess drip off, then dredge in breadcrumb mixture, coating well; place on baking sheets. Bake until golden brown on bottom, 20 to 25 minutes. Turn slices; continue baking until browned on other side, 20 to 25 minutes more. Remove from oven; raise oven temp to 400 degrees.
- Arrange the eggplant in dish, each piece slightly overlapping the last. Cover with sauce, then mozzarella. Sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons Parmesan. Bake until sauce is bubbling and cheese is melted, 15 to 20 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.