Eggplant Parmesan
enough oil to come to about 1/2" in your pan
1 eggplant, sliced, salted, rinsed, and dried
2 eggs, beaten slightly with 1 Tbs water
flour (3 Tbs for an average-sized eggplant) or bread crumbs
salt and pepper to taste
marina sauce
mozzarella, sliced thinly, cubed, or grated (1 cup or more)
grated Parmesan (1/4 cup or more)
Slice the eggplant in 1/4" slices. Place a layer in a colander and sprinkle with salt. Place another layer and salt it. Repeat until the slices are all salted. Let sit for 30 minutes or so in your sink. Rinse off and dry.
When you're ready to start cooking the eggplant, heat the oil over medium heat.
In a pie pan or other shallow dish, beat the eggs and water slightly.
In another pie pan or shallow dish, place the flour or bread crumbs and mix in some salt and pepper.
When the oil is hot, use a couple of forks to put each eggplant slice in the egg and then in the flour, and then in the oil. Cook a few minutes, until browned, then turn and brown the other side. Take the slices out of the pan and drain as much oil as possible, then lay on a layer of paper towels.
In a 9x9 pan, place a thin layer of tomato sauce, then a layer of eggplant. Lay or sprinkle some mozzarella and Parmesan, then repeat with another layer of eggplant, sauce, and cheese. Repeat as often as desired.
Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.
Note: You can fry the eggplant slices ahead of time and then flash-freeze. This makes it easy to whip up a pan of eggplant parmesan very little effort, since it's the frying that takes time and makes a bit of a mess to clean up. Fry up a few eggplants at once and freeze what you don't use for another day.
