Eggplant Parmesan Recipe

Servings: 8
Prep time: 20 minutes
Total time: 1 hour 20 minutes

Ingredients

for the tomato sauce:
½ cup|120 ml olive oil
9 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 tablespoons tomato paste
3 (28-ounce|794-gram cans) whole peeled tomatoes, crushed by hand
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

for the eggplant parmesan:
3-4 medium eggplants, peeled and sliced lengthwise into ¼-inch pieces
2 cups|300 grams all-purpose flour
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
6 large eggs, lightly beaten
4 cups|500 grams bread crumbs
1 ¼ cups|296 ml olive oil
1 cup|237 ml canola oil
4 cups|946 ml tomato sauce
1 ½ pounds|680 grams sliced Mozzarella cheese
1 bunch fresh basil leaves.
1 cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Make the tomato sauce: Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium. Add the garlic and onion and cook until translucent and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and bring to a boil. Season with salty and pepper and remove from heat.
2. Place flour in one large shallow dish. Season with salt and pepper. In another shallow dish, mix the eggs with ½ cup water. Place the bread crumbs in a third shallow dish. Working with 1 slice of eggplant at a time, dust it in the flour, coating it all over, then dip in egg wash, then place in breadcrumbs to coat. Repeat with the remaining slices.
3. Heat 1 cup of olive oil and the canola oil in a large frying pan over medium-high. Working in batches, cook the eggplant, flipping once, until golden brown, about 1 minute per side. Transfer to a rack set over a baking sheet and season with salt.
4. Heat the oven to 450°F. Ladle ½ cup tomato sauce on the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch casserole dish. Arrange a layer of fried eggplant into the dish, then layer mozzarella slices on top to cover. Spoon over 1 cup of tomato sauce then scatter 6-7 basil leaves on sauce. Arrange another layer of fried eggplant slices in the opposite direction. Repeat layers 3 more times ending in mozzarella. Sprinkle parmesan over surface of the top layer then drizzle with the remaining ¼ cup olive oil. Bake until cheese is browning and bubbling, 20 to 25 minutes.

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