Eggplant Parm “Lasagna”

Eggplant parm in itself is absolutely delicious, now imagine baking layers of it with hearty tomato sauce and grated cheese. Yes, it`s gooey, it`s crispy, it`s saucy and incredibly flavourful. This one takes a little longer than our usual recipe to make, but it`s worth every second.

Slice 2 eggplants into 1 cm slices and generously salt them. Let them drain in a strainer or a large bowl for 30 minutes to one hour. This will make sure to get the bitter juices off the eggplant.

While they drain, start the tomato sauce. Blend a 28 oz can of tomatoes with a hand blender until it`s almost smooth. Reserve.

Chop ½ an Onion into small pieces and mince two garlic cloves. In a medium pot, sauté the onion with 2 tablespoons of olive oil on medium heat until translucent. Add the minced garlic and sauté for another minute.

Add the blended tomatoes, a pinch each of salt, baking soda and sugar, and 1 bay leaf and let it cook for at least 40 minutes.

Once the eggplants have rested, discard the liquid and prepare to bread them. In a medium bowl, mix 2 cups of flour with 1 teaspoon each of salt and black pepper. In another medium bowl, mix 5 eggs, 1 teaspoon of tabasco and ½ teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce. In a third bowl, mix 2 cups breadcrumbs with 1 teaspoon each of salt, pepper, dry oregano and dry basil.

Coat the eggplant slices into the flour, followed by the eggs and then the breadcrumbs. Reserve them on a tray.

Pre-heat the oven to 375F.

Heat up vegetable/canola oil in a frying pan with higher sides. Only fill up to 2/3 of the way. Once the oil is very hot, fry 4 breaded slices of eggplant at a time (about 2 minutes a side) until golden brown. Place them on paper towels to ensure they remain crispy and dry the excess oil. Repeat this process until they`re all done.

Once the eggplants are fried and the sauce is cooked,  – make sure to taste and season the tomato sauce with salt and pepper to taste, – start layering them in a baking dish. Start with a light layer of tomato sauce, followed by a layer of the fried eggplant and a couple leaves of fresh basil. Repeat this process to the top of the dish. Top it with a mix of 1 cup of shredded mozzarella and ½ cup of parmesan cheese.

Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake in the pre-heated oven for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and broil the dish for another 10-15 minutes, until the cheese is browned.

Eggplant Parm “Lasagna”

Servings: 4

Time: 2 hours

Ingredients

2 Eggplants

2+ Cups All Purpose Flour

5 Eggs

2+ Cups Breadcrumbs

1 Cup Shredded Mozzarella

½ Cup Shredded Parmesan

1 tsp Tabasco

½ tsp Worcestershire

1 28 oz Can Tomatoes

½ Spanish Onion

2 Garlic Cloves

Pinch Baking Soda

1 tsp Dry Basil

1 tsp Dry Oregano

1 Tbsp Fresh Basil

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 Bay Leaf

Pinch Sugar

Salt and Pepper

Frying Oil

Step-by-Step

1.       Slice eggplant into 1 cm slices and add salt to both sides. Let sit in a strainer for about 30 minutes to remove the bitter juices.

2.       Start the tomato sauce by blending a can of tomatoes with a hand blender. Sauté the chopped onion in olive oil until tender and add the minced garlic. Cook for another minute. Add the can of blended tomatoes, a pinch of salt, sugar, bay leaf and baking soda. Cook for at least 40 minutes. Salt and Pepper to your taste at the end.

3.       In the meantime, bread the eggplants by coating them in flour mixed with salt and pepper, followed by eggs mixed with tabasco and Worcestershire, and finally in breadcrumbs seasoned with salt, pepper, dry oregano and basil. Reserve them in a tray with parchment paper.

4.       In a large frying pan, heat up oil to 2/3 of the height until it`s very hot. Fry up to 4 Eggplant Slices at a time (about 2 minutes a side) until golden brown and place them on paper towels to crisp up.

5.       Once they’re all ready, layer a baking dish with a little bit of tomato sauce, followed by a layer of eggplant and fresh basil and repeat this process to the top. Top the whole dish with a mix of the two cheeses and bake covered with aluminum foil at 375F for 45 minutes. Uncover and broil for 10 minutes until the cheese is browned.