Today I decided to cook up something special for all you veggie lovers out there…Eggplant Parmesan! This was my very first time making this dish and it came out excellent, I was so proud of myself! The recipe was cost friendly which is always a plus and it looked and tasted scrumptious. 

Get the recipe…

Ingredients:

  • About half a cup of olive oil (to fry the eggplant)
  • 2 large eggplants
  • 3 cups of Italian breadcrumbs
  • About 1 cup of parmesan cheese
  • 1 ½ cup of mozzarella cheese 
  • (Note: I eyeballed the amount of cheese I put in. Put as much as you desire!)
  • 2 eggs (beaten)
  • ½ tsp. Freshly chopped parsley (for a garnish)
  • ½ tsp. Freshly chopped basil
  • 4 cups of tomato sauce

For the Sauce:

I’ve already posted my tomato sauce recipe here on Piccola Italia titled “Ma’s Sunday Sauce”, but here it is again! 🙂

Ingredients:

  • 2 rounded tbsp. garlic salt
  • 2 tsp. black pepper
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • Half of a large onion
  • 2 celery stalks
  • 1 large carrot
  • 3 or 4 sprigs of parsley (chopped)
  • 4 big cans of tomato puree
  • 1 Small can of tomato paste
  • 4 tbsp. salted butter
  • Red pepper flakes to taste
  • 4 leaves of fresh basil (optional)

Instructions:

First, you are going to want to have your tomato sauce ready. For this recipe I made my own, but you are more than welcome to use store bought sauce.

For the sauce:

  1. In a large saucepan, coat the bottom of the pan with olive oil on low heat. Add your onion, celery, carrot and parsley to the oil. Put a cover on your pot and let this simmer until the vegetables start to get soft.
  2. Add the tomato puree, tomato paste, butter, red pepper flakes and basil (if you have it.)
  3. Let the sauce simmer on medium heat, stirring occasionally for about 40 minutes.

For the eggplant:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Wash your eggplant well and slice it horizontally into the thickness of your choice.
  3. Beat 2 eggs and get your breadcrumbs ready to coat the slices of eggplant.
  4. Dip your slices into the egg and then into your breadcrumbs making sure every surface is coated.
  5. In a large skillet, warm your olive oil on low heat.
  6. Once all of your eggplant is coated in breadcrumbs, start frying until each side is golden brown.
  7. Once all of the eggplant is fried, start stacking! In a baking dish, coat the bottom with sauce, then a few slices of eggplant, followed by both cheeses. You will repeat this process until your baking dish is filled to the brim.
  8. Bake your eggplant parmesan for 15-20 minutes until the cheese is all melted, and enjoy!!