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Eggplant Parmesan

This was Jess's sandwich. I scooped my bread so I could fit it in my mouth.


It took many years away from New York (like 22 years) to suddenly realize that I missed a really good east coast eggplant parmesan, particularly in sandwich form. So I've made this a few times, and it's successfully fulfilled the craving.

I hate frying things, so I searched for instructions for a baked version and found this one from Gimme Some Oven. The only change I made is to omit the fresh basil (because I usually don't have it on hand) and also omit the Italian seasoning in the breadcrumbs. I like to keep the flavor on the eggplant simple, and pack my sauce with those flavors instead. 

I usually pick up fresh bread to turn it into a sandwich, but we're in quarantine and Fred Meyer was out of the french bread that I tried to get in my last pickup order. So out came the flour and yeast, and I followed this recipe for french bread, and it's SO good and not terribly difficult or time-consuming. I want to say that I will never bother buying french bread again, but I'm sure that's not true.


The Recipe: (from Gimme Some Oven)
1 eggplant, sliced into 1/2 inch rounds
3/4 c panko breadcrumbs
1 tsp salt
1 egg
1 pint tomato sauce (I make it with tomato/onion/garlic/salt/sugar/basil/oregano)
1 c mozzarella cheese, grated
1/3 c parmesan cheese, grated
fresh basil for garnish
french bread if making it into a sandwich
  • Sprinkle the sliced eggplant generously with salt and let it sit in a colander for 30-60 minutes to drain some liquid. Then rinse the salt away.
  • Beat the egg in one bowl. Mix the breadcrumbs and salt in another. Dip the eggplant rounds in egg, then breadcrumbs. Place on baking sheet.
  • Spray the tops of the eggplant rounds with baking spray.
  • Bake at 425 for 20 minutes, flipping halfway through.
  • In a 9x13 casserole dish, layer sauce, then eggplant, then both cheeses. It's fine to make a double layer if you run out of room.
  • Bake for another 20 minutes.
  • Garnish with fresh basil if you have it!
  • Serve in a sandwich, over pasta, or just by itself

The Verdict:
Overall grade: B+
Overall reason: Time consuming and not the most healthy, but delicious.
Time to prepare: 90 minutes
Husband quote: I like it when it's a sandwich. (Implication: he does not like eggplant by itself.)


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