Eggplant Parmigiana

Douglas Loethen
Course Side Dish

Ingredients
  

  • 6 ½ lbs eggplant
  • 6 oz flour
  • 1 ½ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp white pepper
  • 1 pint egg wash (instructions below)
  • 1 ¼ lbs bread crumbs
  • oil for frying
  • 1 ½ quarts tomato sauce

Instructions
 

  • Wash and trim eggplants. Peel if skins are tough. Cut crosswise into 1/4-inch slices. Soak in strongly salted cold water up to 30 minutes. (This step may be omitted, but it helps prevent darkening and eliminates some bitter flavors.)
  • Mix together the flour, salt and pepper. Drain the eggplants and dry them well. Dip each slice in egg wash then bread crumbs. Bread with seasoned flour. Heat 1/4 inch of oil in a heavy iron skillet or saute pan. Pan fry the breaded eggplant on both sides until browned. Remove from pan with slotted spatula and drain on absorbent paper.
  • Top each fried slice with a thin slice of mozza-rella cheese. Arrange in layers in a baking pan, covering each layer with tomato sauce and sprinkling with parmesan cheese. Bake 30 minutes at 350°.

Egg Wash

  • A mixture of eggs and liquid, usually milk or water. More eggs give greater binding power. A small quantity of oil is occasionally added to the egg wash.

Notes

This recipe is from a textbook, so the portions are large.  It is delicious.