Marc's Recipes

  • Type
  • Ingredient
  • Course
  • Cuisine
  • Dietary
  • Sign Up
  • Log In
  • Contact
  • Signup
  • Log In
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Type
  • Ingredient
  • Course
  • Cuisine
  • Dietary
  • Sign Up
  • Log In
    • Instagram
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • search icon
    Homepage link
    • Type
    • Ingredient
    • Course
    • Cuisine
    • Dietary
    • Sign Up
    • Log In
    • Instagram
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • ×
    • Hamaguri no Sakamushi, a Japanese dish of sake-steamed clams, is plated here with opened shells and a light broth, finished with aromatic sansho leaves for a clean, herbal contrast.
      Sake Steamed Clams (Hamaguri No Sakamushi)
    • A hearty bowl of Mapo Zucchini glistens with spicy, umami-rich sauce, the tender squash and pork topped with a fragrant sprinkle of Sichuan pepper.
      Mapo Zucchini
    • Spicy kimchi and poached chicken in a salad.
      Poached Chicken & Kimchi Salad
    • Easy, spicy Curried Green Bean Salad.
      Curried Green Bean Salad
    • A side view of Carrot Kinpira, showing off its glossy strands and bold black sesame accents.
      Carrot Kinpira
    • Mentaiko Shiraae on a plate with shiso leaves.
      Mentaiko Shiraae
    • A stack of Chinese Pickled Cucumbers in a ceramic bowl.
      Chinese Pickled Cucumbers
    • A close-up shot of Bacon Broccoli Pasta shows each penne coated in a silky green sauce, with bits of crispy bacon peeking through for a savory punch.
      Bacon Broccoli Pasta
    • A close up of beautifully crisp rösti pancakes stacked in a wooden serving dish, showcasing irresistible golden-brown crispness.
      Crispy Potato Rosti
    • Salted cucumber and celery combined with basil leaves and sushi vinegar.
      Cucumber Basil Salad (Sunomono)
    • Spicy mentaiko and creamy butter adorn these steamed potatoes.
      Mentaiko Butter Potatoes
    • Cole slaw with a no mayo dressing.
      Tangy Coleslaw (No Mayo)
    Home » Marc's Archive

    Eggplant Parmesan

    August 17, 2014 by Marc Matsumoto Leave a Comment

    Rounds of crispy eggplant with tomato sauce.

    Since posting my recipe for the Best Chicken Parmesan, I've been getting tons of requests for my version of an oven-fried Eggplant Parmesan. It might sound like a simple substitution, but eggplants are quite different from chicken and so it's not as simple as swapping out the chicken for eggplant. To understand how we need to change the recipe to work for eggplant we first need to understand how eggplant differs from chicken.

    Eggplant has a spongy porous texture, which makes it great for absorbing flavors, but when it's deep fried, it also tends to absorb frying oil like a mop. The thing is, it's that absorption of oil that gives the eggplant a marvelous creamy texture and rich taste. Thats why baked eggplants tend to end up dried out and chewy, or spongy and watery.

    This fundamental problem is what's kept me from doing an eggplant parmesan recipe sooner. But recently, while working on another recipe, I realized that if I soaked the eggplant in enough oil before roasting it, it turns out just as tender and creamy as a fried eggplant.

    The next problem was that I envisioned my eggplant parmesan having thick steak-like rounds of eggplant. But when you slice the eggplant too thick, it tends to release a lot of water while cooking, leaving the breading soggy. To avoid this, I salt the pieces first to coax out the excess water. This also has the added benefit of seasoning the eggplant to the core.

    After being salted and squeezed, the eggplant needs to literally be bathed in olive oil before going through the flour, egg, breadcrumb routine. This allows enough oil to soak into each piece of eggplant so that it has the creamy consistency of fried eggplant.

    I use panko breadcrumbs for this; they're like average breadcrumbs on steroids, and they give the eggplant a level of crispness that ordinary breadcrumbs can't touch. You can use store-bought, or I have a recipe for making them here.

    Since we're soaking the eggplant in oil, you may be wondering why I don't just fry it. Well, if you're anything like me and hate cleaning up the splattered mess that deep frying leaves, that alone should be reason enough, but if you're still not convinced, I'm fairly certain deep fried eggplant is going to absorb a heck of a lot more than three tablespoons of oil.

    Crispy brown eggplant slices

    Like croutons in a bowl of French onion soup, this eggplant parm has a crackling crisp crust of bread and browned cheese on top, a tender flavorful bottom, and a rich velvety disc of eggplant in between. I like using a meat sauce for this dish because of the extra flavor it adds, but if you want to make this vegetarian, just swap out the sauce portion of this recipe for my basic tomato sauce

    This recipe first appeared on norecipes.com but due to its age I've moved it here to my personal recipe archive. Check out the full No Recipes Archives for more older recipe or check out some of my favorite recipes.

    Rounds of crispy eggplant with tomato sauce.

    Eggplant Parmesan

    Print Pin Discuss
    Prep Time 15 minutes mins
    Cook Time 35 minutes mins
    Total Time 1 hour hr 35 minutes mins
    Yield 4 servings

    Units

    Ingredients 

    For eggplant

    • 2 medium eggplants
    • ½ teaspoon salt
    • 3 tablespoons olive oil
    • ¼ cup flour
    • 1 large egg
    • ½ cup panko
    • 25 grams Parmesan cheese (grated about ¼ cup)

    For Sauce

    • 1 tablespoon olive oil
    • ½ small onion (finely diced)
    • 7 grams garlic (1 large clove minced)
    • 90 grams ground beef
    • 2 tablespoons red wine
    • 400 grams whole stewed tomatoes (1 small can)
    • ⅓ cup water
    • ¾ teaspoon salt
    • ½ teaspoon dried oregano
    • ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

    To Assemble

    • 100 grams Mozzarella cheese (shredded)
    • 12 grams Parmesan cheese (grated about 2 tablespoons)

    Instructions

    • Trim both ends off the 2 medium eggplants and cut them into 9 rounds about 1-inch thick. Sprinkle the sliced eggplant evenly on both sides with ½ teaspoon salt. Let them sit for about 45 minutes. This coaxes the excess water out of the eggplant, which helps the breading crisp.
      Eggplant slices.
    • After resting for 45 minutes, use paper towels and the palms of your hands to press out as much water as you can from the eggplant slices.
      Eggplant after salting.
    • Drizzle the eggplant with 3 tablespoons olive oil and keep flipping the slices over until the eggplant has absorbed all the oil.
      Crisping the eggplant in the oven.
    • Prepare a baking sheet with a wire rack inside. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
    • Prepare 3 small bowls. Add the ¼ cup flour to one bowl. Add the 1 large egg to the second and beat until uniform. Add the ½ cup panko and grated 25 grams Parmesan cheese to the third bowl and stir to combine.
    • Dust the eggplant slices in flour and pat off any extra flour with your hands so that each slice has a thin even coat of flour without any clumps.
      Coating the eggplant in flour.
    • Dip the floured eggplant in the egg mixture, coating every surface and then transfer the eggplant to the bowl with the breadcrumbs.
    • Shake the bowl, using a tossing motion to coat the pieces evenly with bread crumbs, pressing down on them to ensure you get a nice even coating.
      Cheese and panko coated eggplant slices.
    • Place the breaded eggplant onto the wire rack and then bake until the eggplant is tender when poked with a toothpick and the breading is light brown (about 30-40 minutes).
      Crispy brown eggplant slices
    • While the eggplant bakes, make the sauce by adding the 1 tablespoon olive oil, ½ small onion and 7 grams garlic to a pan and saute over medium-high heat until the onions are tender and are starting to brown.
    • Add the 90 grams ground beef and sauté, breaking up the chunks until the meat is cooked.
      Browning the ground meat for the sauce.
    • Add the 2 tablespoons red wine and let it boil until most of the liquid is gone.
    • Add the 400 grams whole stewed tomatoes, ⅓ cup water, ¾ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon dried oregano and ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper, breaking up the tomatoes with a spatula.
    • Turn down the heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook the sauce for 10 minutes.
    • When the eggplant is done, remove it from the oven and turn the heat up to 500 degrees F (260 C).
    • Pour the sauce into a 10-inch square baking dish. Lay the oven-fried eggplant on top of the sauce.
    • Cover the eggplant with 100 grams Mozzarella cheese and the remaining 12 grams Parmesan cheese.
      Adding cheese to the eggplant.
    • Bake the eggplant parmesan until the cheese is golden brown and crusty (about 10-15 minutes).

    Nutrition

    Calories 464kcalCarbohydrates 34gProtein 20gFat 28gSaturated Fat 9gPolyunsaturated Fat 3gMonounsaturated Fat 15gTrans Fat 0.3gCholesterol 85mgSodium 1365mgPotassium 904mgFiber 9gSugar 13gVitamin A 521IUVitamin C 14mgCalcium 375mgIron 4mg
    Course Entree
    Cuisine American, Best, Italian

    More Marc's Archive

    • Crispy Peppermint Bark
    • Luscious blueberries with a sugar biscuit and ice cream.
      Blueberry Cobbler
    • A bowl of Vegan Broccoli Cheese Soup.
      Vegan Broccoli Cheese Soup
    • Spring Pasta with flowers and asparagus.
      Spring Pasta (Pasta Primavera)

    Comments

    No Comments

    5 from 1 vote (1 rating without comment)

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    You must be logged in to post a comment.

    I started No Recipes back in 2007 as a place to share original dishes I'd created with friends. It's since evolved into something much bigger than I could have imagined, but as it grew, the focus shifted from inventing dishes to improving classics. In the spirit of how No Recipes began, I'm bringing back my weekly original recipes for all of my supporters and friends!

    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Facebook
    • Pinterest

    More about me →

    Marc's Favorites

    • Hamaguri no Sakamushi, a Japanese dish of sake-steamed clams, is plated here with opened shells and a light broth, finished with aromatic sansho leaves for a clean, herbal contrast.
      Sake Steamed Clams (Hamaguri No Sakamushi)

    • Spicy mentaiko and creamy butter adorn these steamed potatoes.
      Mentaiko Butter Potatoes

    • Roasted chicken on a plate.
      Perfect Roast Chicken

    • Tenderloin slices with mushroom wine cream sauce.
      Tenderloin Steak and Creamy Mushroom Sauce

    • Taiwanese style glazed pork chops.
      Five Spice Glazed Pork Chops

    • Easy and delicious, these baked Tebasaki wings are a crispy, satisfying snack or appetizer.
      Tebasaki (Baked Japanese Wings)

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Contact
    • About

    Newsletter

    • Recipe Updates by Email

    Legal

    • Privacy Policy
    • Cookie Policy
    • Terms and Conditions

    All text and photos ©2007-2023 by Marc Matsumoto. All rights reserved.

    Rate This Recipe

    Your vote:




    A rating is required
    A name is required
    An email is required

    Recipe Ratings without Comment

    Something went wrong. Please try again.