Hey everyone! My baked eggplant parmesan is a favorite of my fiance and will become one of yours as well! Forget bland, over-filling and fried, this dish is super-healthy and full of flavor. With a little practice it's quick to make, and totally open to improvisation! Don't be afraid to experiment!
serves 2-3
Ingredients:
*1 roll Ritz crackers
*1 container Italian Style Progresso Bread Crumbs (any other kind will do!)
*1 - 2 eggs 2 good-sized cloves garlic
*2 small eggplants
*1 box angel hair pasta
*1 jar tomato sauce olive oil
*Any brand of Italian Seasoning-herb mix
*salt
*pepper
Instructions:
1) Using either a vegetable peeler or a knife, remove the skin from each eggplant.
2) Cut each eggplant into slices about a half an inch thick.
3) Take a small plate and line it with paper towels, then place 1 slice of eggplant in the center. Use another small plate to "sandwich" the eggplant slice in the middle, then apply pressure to the top plate (so you are squishing the eggplant.) This helps to remove excess moisture from the eggplant, so it's not too mushy after it is baked. Repeat process on all slices of eggplant. *you might not notice a lot of moisture leak out from your eggplant slices, but you'll notice a big difference in your finished product!
4) Setting your newly "sandwiched" eggplant slices aside, crack and scramble 1 egg into a small bowl and set aside. (depending on how many eggplant slices you end up with, 2 eggs might be required)
5) Remove Ritz crackers from the sleeve and place into a plastic bag, then seal the bag. Use your hands to crumble the crackers into a fine breading within the bag, and then pour into a medium sized bowl.
6) Add about 3/4 cup of Progresso bread crumbs to the Ritz crumbles. Be sure to mix them together well! Season with Italian herbs, salt, and pepper to taste. Set aside.
7) Remove the skin from 2 cloves of garlic, and using an electric chopper (or a good knife if you are patient and without a chopper), chop garlic into very small bits.
8) Add the chopped garlic to the breadcrumb mixture and mix well.
**Checkpoint: At this point, you should have your pressed eggplant slices, the bowl of egg, and the bowl of breading/garlic mixture**
9) Put on the water on low-medium to boil for the noodles (you'll use about a half a box, depending on desired portions), and put the sauce on low in a small pot. (if you're in a hurry, you can microwave the sauce), don't forget to stir!
10) Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and coat LIGHTLY with olive oil. Be sure to keep this close to your other ingredients, for easy, no-mess transportation of the eggplant to the cookie sheet. Preheat oven to 375.
11) Using a fork, spear an eggplant slice and dip it into the bowl of egg, making sure that each side is well coated.
12) Remove the eggplant slice from the egg and put it into the bowl of breading. Using the fork, employ a "coat-and-pat" method to bread your eggplant, first covering one side of the eggplant with breadcrumbs, then patting them to help the crumbs stick. Repeat this process per side, and per slice of eggplant, placing each finished slice onto the lined cookie sheet.
13) Drizzle the top of each breaded eggplant slice with olive oil and bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown (bake to a deeper brown for more crunch).
14) By the time you are sliding your eggplant into the oven, the water should be boiling, and you can cook the noodles. If the noodles are done before the eggplant, just strain and set aside.
15) When the eggplants are the desired color, let stand 5 minutes, and serve. I personally like to arrange the eggplant slices on one half of the plate, and put the spaghetti and sauce on the other side.
ENJOY!
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