Bringing another classic Italian dish to you today.
Ok so it snowed again and is incredibly cold AGAIN. Someone come save me. The only things warming me up are hot and cheesy comfort foods like this Eggplant Parmesan and my sweet Izzy Bear, of course.
Italian food is my favorite type of cuisine not because of my Italian husband, but because I have always truly enjoyed it. I grew up eating my mom’s spaghetti which is more like farm spaghetti so it’s even better – lot’s of ground beef and cheese. You can never go wrong with ground beef and cheese. It’s also my favorite type of cuisine to cook so one of my goals is to develop my very own recipes for all the classic Italian dishes and share them with you!
Eggplant Parmesan is one of those classics and I love it because it’s healthy and incredibly flavorful. There are a few steps but it’s pretty straight forward – I promise you the work is worth it!
This is a great dish to make at the beginning of the week and have for lunch or leftovers throughout the week. It warms up well and tastes even better the next day because all the flavors have time to really come together. My favorite part of this dish? The crusty cheese on top! (duh) I used part skim mozzarella to make it a bit healthier – make sure you brown the cheese on top because it adds another flavor of cheesy goodness. Just turn your oven to broil for a few minutes and in no time the cheese will brown right up. There’s something about a crusty cheese layer that takes any Italian dish to the next level. Can I say the word cheese anymore?
Have a wonderful Monday and stay warm if you live in these crazy winter states. Never thought space heaters would become my best friends.
So what’s your favorite cuisine to make?
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- 1 28 ounce can tomato sauce
- 1 28 ounce can diced tomatoes
- 6 ounces tomato paste
- ½ cup water
- ¼ cup red wine
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ - 1 teaspoons salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 - 2 teaspoons sugar
- ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
- 2 eggplants, sliced 1 inch thick
- 3 eggs
- 2 tablespoons water
- 2 cups seasoned Italian bread crumbs
- 1 cup flour for dredging
- Shredded mozzarella cheese
- Salt, pepper and garlic powder for seasoning
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- First prepare the sauce by sauteing the onions in a large pot, over medium heat, in olive oil until translucent. Add minced garlic and stir for 1 minute until fragrant. Add the rest of ingredients and let simmer for at least 30 minutes. Stir occasionally so sauce does not burn. Taste for seasoning - add more of less depending on your palate.
- To prepare the eggplant, season with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Mix the eggs with 2 tablespoons water in shallow bowl. Next, dredge each slice in flour, then the egg wash, then the bread crumbs. Bake for 20 minutes until crispy. After eggplant has baked, turn the oven temperature to 350 degrees.
- Assemble the dish by placing 1 cup of sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Add a single layer of the baked eggplant and top with mozzarella cheese. Continue layering sauce, eggplant, cheese ending with a cheese layer. Bake for 20 minutes until bubbly and browned. To achieve a crispy cheese layer, turn oven to broil at 500 degrees and broil until the top layer of cheese is browned. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting in to.
Source: Stuck on Sweet
Heather @ Sugar Dish Me
Oh. My. Gossshhhhhhh. This eggplant parm looks amazing! Seriously. I super love eggplant and I really love that you baked this!
juliajolliff
This looks so mouth watering good! I love eggplant parmesan!!