Thursday, October 4, 2012

Eggplant Parmesan

Ahh - my favorite - Eggplant Parmesan
This eggplant Parmesan was done in a spring form pan so that you can see the layers and cut it into wedges.
There are 5 layers here.  The eggplant is sliced super thin on a Mandolin spread out on paper towels and lightly salted for an hour.  I then rinse well and dry on paper towels.

Here are the ingredients
2-3 eggplants depending on size.  Don't worry if you have too much - you can take the extra and make another one in a casserole dish and freeze for future meals.
Fresh Breadcrumbs - about 3 cups (I process leftover crusty bread and freeze it in ziplock bags
Salt
Basil - to taste
Fresh Mozzarella - 1 large ball and 2 cups shredded mozzerella
All purpose flour - 2 cups - more as needed
2 eggs  - more as needed
2 cups parmesan cheese - hopefully fresh grated
Springform pan
Sauce:
5 cloves garlic - crushed, peeled and sliced very thin
1/4 cup olive oil
1 can San Marzano whole plum tomatoes
1 can San Marzano crushed tomatoes (Marzano tomatoes are from Italy and are grown in volcanic soil)
1 heaping teasp of sugar or 1 teaspoon agave syrup.  If you don't want sugar - you can take the extra step of a very fine shredding of 2 carrots on the finest setting and add after the garlic in the recipe steps below.
5 leaves of basil that you can take out later
salt to taste

PREP the eggplant:
Slice eggplant super thin - best with mandolin or slice by hand.  Take sea or kosher salt and sprinkle lightly on eggplant placed on individual paper towels (all over the counter and any other available surface - oy my poor kitchen ;-)  Sit for an hour and rinse in colander in sink.  Place on new paper towels and blot with dry paper towels on both sides. Oh and no need to peel the eggplant but I usually just peel strips in a pattern so the eggplant has stripes when I'm done

PREP the coatings:
Put some of the flour for dredging in a container like a baking dish or plate.  Do the same for the breadcrumbs. Crack two eggs and wisk them well in a third container or plate.  I add a tiny splash of olive oil into the eggs.

MAKE THE SAUCE:
Put 1/4 cup in a large pot or sauce pan.  Add sliced garlic and simmer on low until the garlic turns ever so slightly light brown.   Crush the whole tomatoes with your hands and add to the oil/garlic in the pan.  Add the crushed tomatoes next.  If you are sweetening with the grated carrots - add that before the sauce and simmer for 5 min.  Add the sweetener if using.  Let sauce simmer on low for about an hour or two until thickened.  Not too thick because it will cook more later but not too watery either  

COOKING THE EGGPLANT
Coat the eggplant slices first in flour, then egg and then the breadcrumbs.  Place the breaded peices on a wire rack to set.  I do about 8 to 10 at a time.  Heat Canola Oil in very large skillet.  The oil should cover the entire bottom of the pan to about 1/8th inch deep.  Make sure the oil is hot.  Throw in a breadcrumb piece and if it sizzles and browns - you are ready. 
Don't crowd the pan - put as many as will fit without crowding and look for a nice toasty brown on both sides.  2-3 min per side or less.  Keep checking and also adjusting heat so as not to burn them.  As they are ready - put on paper towels to drain the oil.  I probably am cooking about 15-20 eggplant slices so I unusually clean out my pan and put more oil in and re-heat midway so the loose crumbs that stay in pan don't burn.  Repeat process until all the eggplant is cooked.

ASSEMBLING THE DISH - Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
 Take your Springform pan and ladle in some sauce to cover the bottom.  Arrange breaded eggplant slices - fat side to the edge of the pan and cover bottom - overlapping slightly.  Add some shredded mozzarella, some Parmesan, some chopped basil and some more sauce  Do another layer of eggplant and repeat process until you have multiple layers.  Do not overfill or it will overflow ;-)  Leave a little space at the top for the fresh mozzarella and then some as it bubbles later.  Add a nice layer of fresh sliced mozzarella cheese and a sprinkling of Parmesan.

Now you want to put multiple layers of foil under the dish and around the sides and enough that comes over the top as you will be folding it over the top of the pan initially.  Put pan on cookie sheet in case of leaking.   Cook for 45 min covered.  Fold down the foil from the top and finish until cheese is cooked and you see some bubbling of the sauce. 

Remove and let sit for at least 20 min before removing the spring form section of the pan.

PS - If I have leftover breaded eggplant - I either make a sandwich with cheese and sauce or make a smaller additional eggplant parm dish




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2 comments:

  1. Getting ready to make this one sounds good, will let you know. Thanks for the help. Greg

    ReplyDelete