Eggplant Parmigiana di panamaus

Ingredients:

4 eggs (3 if they're very large)
1 cup flour
1 cup dry bread crumbs
2 tablespoons kosher salt (optional)
1 medium eggplant
1 cup olive oil
8 ounces provolone cheese, grated
4 ounces parmesan cheese, grated
1 26-ounce jar of prepared marinara sauce

Directions:

Slice eggplant as desired - half-inch sections, then halved, seems to work best. If your eggplant is too large, you may not want to use all of it. Put flour into a 1 gallon size sealable plastic bag, followed by eggplant slices. Seal bag and shake until all slices are coated with flour.

In a medium bowl, beat eggs thoroughly. (You may want to thin this with a little water.) Place dry bread crumbs (preferably the kind you buy in a canister - I like the Italian style for this recipe) in another medium bowl. Mix the kosher salt in with the bread crumbs.

In a large (number 8) skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Place two plates between the breading area and the skillet; line one with paper towels.

Skewer each eggplant slice with a fork, removing it from the flour bag and submerging it in the egg mixture, then in the bread crumbs, and place on the waiting plate. Once you have about six slices prepared, use tongs to place them into the oil.

Prepare three more slices as above, and then turn the cooking slices over. Eggplant cooks very quickly, each side should be done in about 90 seconds if you have the heat set correctly. While the other side cooks, prepare three more slices. Remove cooking slices and place on waiting plate lined with paper towels to drain and cool. Continue with the next six slices you have prepared until all the slices are cooked.

Preheat your oven to 350º F. In an 8 inch baking dish, alternately layer the eggplant, grated provolone cheese, grated parmesan cheese, and marinara sauce, ending with the sauce. You will only be able to build two layers, and should use about half of each ingredient per layer.

You will usually end up with a few leftover pieces of eggplant, and you can smear whatever remaining marinara is left in the jar on them and eat them as a snack while you wait for the dish to bake. If you have a covered dish, you may want to use the cover, but I usually don't. Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until cheeses are thoroughly melted. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving - over a bed of vermicelli is how I like it best. You can prepare your pasta while the eggplant bakes, and if you time it right they will both be done together and you can congratulate yourself on how smart you are.

Depending upon how hungry you and your dinner party are, this recipe serves between four and eight people.

eggplant parm is one of my favorite dishes to eat and prepare. my version isn't really an authentic italian dish, but it tastes darn good.

here's what you need:

2 good sized eggplant
seasoned breadcrumbs
1/2 lb. mozzerella cheese
red sauce (gravy for you italian folks)
2 eggs
salt

preparation:

preheat the oven to 400.
shred the mozzerella
cut the ends off the eggplant and peel them. slice them long-wise into 1/4" thick strips. once all the eggplant is cut, lightly salt each side of each slice and place then in a colander in the sink to sit for about 20 minutes. this reduces the (potential) bitterness that the eggplant can have. rinse off each slice and lay them aside to dry a bit.
beat the eggs in a shallow bowl.
dip each slice of eggplant in the egg, then coat it in breading and place it on a greased baking sheet. once all slices have been breaded, place all the baking sheets in the oven.
since cooking isn't an exact science, you'll have to keep an eye on them. i've found that baking the eggplant slices 6 minutes on each side works well. however, you should bake them until they are golden brown-ish. as an alternative, you can also fry the slices instead of baking them. baking is more healthy, and i think it tastes better.
once they are done, take the out of the oven to cool a little.
put a layer of sauce down in a glass baking dish.
on top of this, put a layer of eggplant followed by a layer of cheese.
repeat the sauce-eggplant cheese thing until you run out of eggplant.
put an extra layer of sauce on the top to prevent drying out.
put this in the oven and bake it until the cheese is all melty and the sauce starts to boil around the edges of the pan. let it cool a little, so the cheese can firm up, then cut and serve.