A tasty vegetarian substitute for chicken parmesan is eggplant parmesan. Eggplant wrapped in a bread crumb mixture, covered with marinara and bubbling cheese, this meal is delectable.
The dish eggplant parmesan is a lot of fun. Prepare and cut the eggplant first. Get the outer coating ready. Apply flour to the eggplant, then dip it in the egg and last in the outer covering. Prepare and simmer the sauce and cook the eggplant rounds. Finally, take the eggplant rounds out of the oven and arrange them in a skillet with the cheese, sauce, and eggplant rounds. After cooking, garnish and serve.
Ingredients:
Here are the ingredients required for making eggplant Parmesan recipe:
Eggplant + Breadcrumbs
- Two pounds of cut ¼-inch rounds of eggplant
- Three tsp salt
- One and a half teaspoons of salt and pepper
- Four cups of bread crumbs
- One cup of grated Parmesan cheese and one cup of all-purpose flour
- Four big eggs
Sauce
- Six tablespoons of vegetable oil for sauce
- 1 can (14.5 ounces) of diced tomatoes
- Extra virgin olive oil, two tablespoons
- Four tablespoons of garlic, minced
- Half a teaspoon of flakes of red pepper
- One teaspoon of Italian seasoning
- One-third cup of freshly chopped basil, salt, and pepper to taste
Toppings
- Two cups of whole-milk mozzarella cheese
- Ten fresh, roughly torn basil leaves and
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
Follow these steps to make the classic Eggplant Parmesan:
Eggplant:
- Slice the eggplant into rounds that are ¼ inch thick, then toss it with three teaspoons of salt.
- Place on a baking sheet lined with paper towels and leave for 30 to 40 minutes. The eggplants will expel extra water during this period.
- After 30 to 40 minutes, remove any extra salt from the eggplant, then gently push down on the eggplant rounds with more paper towels to squeeze out any remaining water.
- In the meantime, spray non-stick spray on a metal cooling rack, line a rimmed baking sheet with it, and set it aside.
- Set racks in the upper and lower center positions and preheat the oven to 425 degrees. To heat the oven, place two baking sheets inside.
- Put the bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, half a teaspoon of salt, and half a teaspoon of pepper in a big bowl. Mix to blend, then put aside.
- Put 1 teaspoon of pepper and flour in a zip-top bag and shake to mix. Put aside.
- Using a fork, beat the eggs in a shallow bowl until they are foamy. Put aside
- When the eggplant rounds are finished, put eight to ten at a time in the bag with a zip closure and shake to coat them in flour. After that, take it out of the bag and dip it into the egg mixture. Run off any extra egg.
- Next, add the parmesan cheese mixture and bread crumbs.
- Place each round on the tray that has been lined with the cooling rack that has been sprayed.
- Continue until you have dredged all of the eggplant.
- After taking the heated baking sheets out of the oven, pour three teaspoons of vegetable oil onto each one.
- Gently tilt the sheet to distribute the oil evenly throughout the pan.
- After putting half of the eggplant rounds into each pan’s oil, put the pans back in the oven.
- every 30 minutes of baking, rotate and replace the pans every 10 minutes. After 20 minutes, turn the eggplant rounds over with a spatula. Remove from the oven after 30 minutes, but leave it on.
Sauce:
- In the meantime, put all the ingredients for the sauce—aside from the fresh basil—into a blender or food processor and pulse until smooth.
- Transfer to a saucepan and set over medium-high heat. After it begins to slowly boil, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the sauce has reduced and thickened.
- Taste the sauce, stir in the fresh basil, and adjust the flavors to your liking.
Assemble:
- To assemble, apply nonstick cooking spray on a 9 x 13 baking dish.
- Evenly distribute 1 cup of sauce in the bottom using a spoon.
- Place half of the eggplant slices in a layer, overlapping as necessary.
- Cover the eggplant with one cup of sauce.
- To create a second layer, add half of the cheese.
- After that, cover the leftover eggplant with one more cup of sauce. and the leftover mozzarella cheese cup.
- The cheese should be bubbling and faintly browned after 15 minutes of baking in a hot oven.
- After taking it out of the oven, let it cool for five to ten minutes.
- Serve with the remaining cup of sauce and sprinkle with the fresh basil.
