Eggplants. I love the look of them and the texture and flavor. In Chinese restaurants, I love the garlic, pork, and eggplant dish that I first had 20 years ago. (Hmmm… I should probably try to make that one day.) In the meantime, I satisfy my eggplant craving at home with eggplant Parmesan.
In the past, I’ve fried up a bunch of eggplant at one point, then frozen the slices so I could pull out what I wanted for a sandwich or a small eggplant Parmesan.
You can make your own marinara sauce or use your favorite jarred sauce.
Eggplant Parmesan
Ingredients
- 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
- 1/4-1/2 cup flour
- 1/4-1/2 cup breadcrumbs
- salt and pepper to taste
- marinara sauce
- mozzarella, thinly sliced, grated or cubed
- grated Parmesan
Instructions
- 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.
- Place the flour in another shallow dish and the breadcrumbs in a third. Lightly season the flour with salt and pepper.
- When the oil is hot, use a couple of forks to put each eggplant slice in the flour, then the egg and then the breaccrumbs, coating each side. Carefully place 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 while you finish cooking the rest of the eggplant.
- 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.
Notes: I’ve done this many different ways: skipping the egg and using just flour, baking rather than frying. I’ve also fried the eggplant with no flour, but I prefer it with some breading of some kind. I don’t really measure the cheese so have a hard time estimating what you might need.
Notes on freezing: If you want to freeze the fried eggplant slices, lay on a cookie sheet and “flash freeze.” When the slices are firm, place in a freezer bag or other freezer container.
I asked one of my cooking groups and several people said they do this often, but they cook and THEN freeze, then thaw and reheat. If you cook from frozen, they suggested covering with foil for most of the baking time, then removing for the last 20 minutes or so or the top cheese gets too browned.
I have NOT done this before, but I would freeze them uncooked. I’ve only frozen the individual slices of eggplant before.
wanted to know if I can make eggplant parmesan in advance and freeze. Fry Eggplant – gravy and cheeses then freeze – should I cook first and freeze or leave uncooked and freeze until needed. Need to make 5 trays and want to do in advance instead of on the day of the event.
I need to make 5 trays of eggplant parmesan and I want to make ahead. If I put it together on Tuesday, Wednesday and need it for Sunday should I make it and cook it completely then reheat on Sunday or should I freeze it uncooked with the gravy and cheese and cook on Sunday. I always make fresh, not sure I can freeze and which way is best. Thanks
I just fried seven eggplants following your instruction, leaving only the egg out. They were delicious! I like to put the slices on sandwiches. Thanks for the flash freezing tip b/c I was nervous about freezing fried eggplant.