Eggplant Parmesan

Eggplant Parmesan    

 

  Oven @ 350°

  Prep time :: 20 min 

 Baking time ::  35-40 min ______________________________________________________________________________           

1 sliced         Large Eggplant ( ½ inch – 3/8 inch  slices)

~¼ cup          Salt –enough to coat eggplant and “sweat” away black bitter juices

3                     Eggs

¼ cup            Half + Half or cream or milk

2 cups           Breadcrumbs (Panko is my favorite)

1 teaspoon   Black Pepper

1 TBspoon    Dried Basil

1 TBspoon    Dried Oregano

2 cups            Freshly grated Parmigianno Regianno

10 ounces     Fresh Mozarella –sliced about ½ inch or less thick   .                                 . 

~ Coat sliced eggplant in salt and place in colander over bowl to collect black juice, let sit  about 20 minutes

~Rinse them in cool water to get salt off 

Egg Mixture + Breadcrumbs for frying eggplant

~ Whisk eggs + milk + pepper (no salt in the eggs) for dipping eggplant

~Then dip the eggplant in the breadcrumb mixture::

mix the breadcrumbs, basil, oregano, pinch of salt & pepper and some

(~ ½ cup) parmigianno regianno (my favorite parmesan, but any will do, regianno is just the best!)

~Fry in hot oil in frying pan, cook until browned 

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~~Cover the bottom of a baking dish with a thin layer of sauce, after frying eggplants, immediately place in a row in your baking dish.

~ throw a hint of parmigianno all over the eggplants in the baking dish, then place a slice of mozzarella on top of each eggplant slice.

 

~ spoon a bunch more sauce on top of the eggplant, but not fully covering them so some of the cheese will bubble, (((( or put sauce all over the eggplant and put the cheese on top of that.))))  you’ll know which is best, I change between both ways.  use as much or as little sauce as you like

~cover pan with foil and bake @ 350° for 35 minutes or more until bubbling.

<<optional>>   Take off foil and broil under broiler for a few minutes if you want cheese to get a little browned

Enjoy!!!

My favorite Italian comfort food.

This is my own recipe for a spaghetti sauce based on my Italian grandma's.  I changed it a bit, and its so great that i make it very often.  Its the best sauce i ever had, i can't even eat italian out anymore, nothing is as good as this.  Best spaghetti sauce ever!

   Rustic Italian Sauce (Organic, of course!)  

2 cans             28 oz Whole Peeled Tomatoes

10 cloves       Garlic (more or less)

¼ cup             Olive oil

2 chopped     medium white or yellow onions

2 Red Peppers (roasted under broiler and rotated until skin in blackened, then remove 

                              skin and chop into pieces)

8 oz                Crimini/baby bella mushrooms, or any other type (just not white buttons, they have little flavor)

1 ¼ cup        Dry Red Wine   (something you would drink)

3 TBspoon    Oregano

3 TBspoon    Basil   (fresh is best, but dried is good when crumbled with your fingers)

2 teaspoon   sugar

1-3 TBspoon Chili Pepper flakes (depending on how spicy you want the sauce)

1/3 cup           Parsley –fresh roughly chopped

~ First finely mince garlic and put into saucepan with the olive oil – no heat, just let it soak a bit while prepping the rest of ingredients

~Turn on very low heat and add onion and a pinch of salt and pepper until onions are translucent

~ Add the oregano and red chili flakes, stir until blended  (Basil will be added to sauce later)

~ Add mushrooms and another small pinch of salt and cook until they are fully cooked

 

~ Add the roasted red pepper and a small pinch of salt, stir and let cook for about 2 minutes 

 

~While mushrooms, pepper mixture is cooking squish the tomatoes in a bowl with your hand—until fully crushed

~When mushrooms are cooked and ready, Add tomatoes to the onion, pepper, mushroom mixture and stir until simmering

~ Turn heat to low and cover for 5 minutes or more

~Add basil to sauce and let simmer on very low another 5-10 minutes

~Now add the sugar , stir and taste

~ Taste to check out the flavors, add whatever else you think it needs (could be more basil, oregano, or chili flakes, but be careful with the flakes, they get spicier over time) 

~ If you add more spices, let simmer another 5-7 minutes.

~When you think its got great flavor, Add the wine

~Let simmer covered another 15-30 minutes,   stirring occasionally {{adding the wine is the final phase to push all the flavors together for the final simmering }}

~ you’ll be able to tell when it’s done, the color turns beautiful and the smell is amazing 

~When finished, turn off heat, add the parsley and give it a quick stir, so some parsley is floating on top

~ Let cool for a few minutes then put directly into the fridge for use tomorrow {{or try some on some pasta cooked al dente}}