EGGPLANT PARMESAN LIGHT Simple recipe, fresh ingredients make this easy enough for midweek meal planning
One of the dishes that my grandmother and I both loved equally was eggplant Parmesan. It was one of two menu items that she would choose when at her favorite Italian restaurant. When she found out that I often made it for myself, she expressed interest in my teaching her.
At the time, Grams was 83 years young. She was a selftaught cook, her expertise being in the Mexican food of her childhood. She told me she had tried re-creating the dish many times but said hers came out as a big, cheesy bowl of mush, nothing like the restaurant version.
So, back in 2012, just before I started to pack for my move into her house with her and my auntie, I had Grams over to teach her my simplified recipe.
As she watched me in the kitchen, she commented on things I was doing that she didn’t know to do, like how salting eggplant helps draw out its moisture, so it fries up better. And that the most significant step she left out in her attempt was breading and frying the eggplant slices before layering them with the cheese and sauce.
“Como milanesa de carne?” Like chicken fried steak? she asked. Yes, Grandma, like chicken fried steak.
She loved the finished dish, and I loved that I could teach her something for a change, after a lifetime of learning things from her.
An easy, healthier eggplant Parmesan
I didn’t grow up eating eggplant, but once I tried it, the vegetable hooked me (botanically speaking, eggplant is a fruit and, more specifically, classified as a berry). I started researching how to make eggplant Parmesan back when I was in my 30s and I was living alone. Most of the recipes I came across called for 2 or 3 large globe eggplants and lavish amounts of cheese. Unless I was having a dinner party or was fine with eating the same thing for an entire week, I knew I needed to develop a scaled-down and, hopefully, somewhat healthier version. The recipe I created is a lightened-up version that is easy enough for a midweek dinner for two or a side dish for four.
When shopping for eggplant, you want one with taut, shiny skin that is an evenly dark purple, almost black. For this dish, choose eggplant that is long and uniform in shape. To keep the slices as evenly sized as possible, skip the pear-shaped bulbous eggplants.
Instead of layering long slices of breaded and deep-fried eggplant with copious amounts of cheese in a big casserole dish, this recipe has even-sized, lightly breaded slices of pan-fried eggplant sandwiched with a piece of fresh mozzarella, along with ribbons of fresh basil. The eggplantand-cheese stacks sit on a bit of chunky tomato sauce. After all the eggplant is stacked, the remaining sauce covers the entire lot. With a final generous sprinkling of grated Parmesan, the dish is ready for the oven.
You can lighten this up even more by skipping the shallow pan-frying of the Parmesan breaded eggplant. Instead, spray the breaded slices with a bit of olive oil, place them on a wire rack nestled into a rimmed baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, flip the slices, spray a little olive oil on this second side and return to the oven for another 10 to 15 minutes or until golden.
But really, how often do you fry? The shallow pan-frying in an excellent quality extra-virgin olive oil produces a more satisfying texture while adding loads of flavor. And since you’re already cutting down on the amount of cheese, I say, go ahead and pan-fry.
To improve texture, salt the eggplant: Place a single layer of the sliced eggplant in a colander. Liberally sprinkle with kosher salt to draw out moisture. Repeat with remaining slices. Place a plate on top of the colander small enough to make even contact with the eggplant. Weigh it down (I place my heaviest mixing bowl filled with a couple of cans of food onto the plate) and set it aside in the sink or on a plate for at least 20 minutes.
Prepare the sauce: Place the diced tomatoes and sauce into a bowl. Add the minced garlic, thyme, oregano, 1⁄2 teaspoon kosher salt and some freshly ground black pepper to taste. Stir well. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.
Set up your dredging station: Place the eggs into a small, shallow bowl and beat until scrambled well. Place the breadcrumbs and 2⁄3 cups of Parmesan into a second small, shallow bowl. Add about a teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper, stirring well to mix. Place a wire rack (I use my cookie cooling racks) into a large rimmed baking sheet.
Using paper towels, wipe off the salt from the eggplant slices (some recipes say to rinse the salt off, but I don’t bother as I find a good wipedown is enough).
Using the wet hand/dry hand method, take a slice of eggplant, quickly dip it into the egg, and carefully drop it into the breadcrumb bowl. Using your dry hand, cover the eggplant with the breadcrumb mixture. Flip, coating all sides. Place dredged eggplant on the wire rack. Repeat with the rest of the eggplant, reserving the leftover crumbs for later. Let the breaded eggplant rest for a minimum of 15 minutes (30 minutes is even better). Resting allows the breading to bond to the egg and the egg to bond with the eggplant, cutting down on the loss of breading during frying.
Fry the eggplant: Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil to the pan. Once it’s shimmering, working in batches, place four or five slices of eggplant into the hot oil (don’t overcrowd the pan; it will bring down the oil temperature). Cook until golden, about three to four minutes on each side. Remove and return to the wire rack to drain.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Chiffonade the basil: Make small stacks of the basil leaves and roll them tightly lengthwise. Thinly slice, creating ribbons of basil. Repeat with the remaining basil. Separate the ribbons; set aside.
Assemble and bake: Place a few tablespoons of tomato sauce into a small casserole dish. Create a single layer with the largest rounds of eggplant on top of the sauce. Top each piece with a medallion of mozzarella and some basil. Cover each stack with another slice of eggplant. Add a tablespoon of sauce to the top of each stack. Repeat, layering each stack with more cheese, basil, sauce and eggplant, finishing with eggplant as the last layer. Pour the remainder of the sauce over all the stacks. Add the reserved 1⁄3 cup of Parmesan into the leftover breadcrumbs and sprinkle the mixture over the tops of each stack. Bake uncovered for 35 minutes or until the Parmesan is golden. Rest for at least 5 minutes before serving.
Note: Chop any leftover mozzarella and toss it into a salad. Or use it in an omelet or stack with a slice of ripe tomato, some basil and a drizzle of olive oil for a quick caprese salad.