How to Make Eggplant Parmesan - Recipe

Here's an eggplant parmesan recipe that is super delicious and will surely be a hit with whomever you make it for. I know, because whenever I make this recipe for people, they always want seconds! This eggplant parmesan goes great with spaghetti and meatballs, a caesar salad and a nice bottle of red wine. Give yourself about two hours to prepare this dish. So when you're ready to get started cooking, here's how to make some delicious eggplant parmesan:

Ingredients

• 3 pounds of eggplant (3 large eggplant)
• 4 eggs
• 2-3 medium onions sliced
• 3 cans of diced tomatoes
• 1 cup fine dry bread crumbs (Italian seasoned)
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese
• 4 tablespoons tomato paste (optional)
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 2 cloves of garlic crushed
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• approx. 1 1/2 cups of Salad oil or Vegetable oil

Directions

1. Wash eggplant, but do not peel skin and slice thin (about 1/4 inch slices).
2. Beat the eggs with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
3. Dip eggplant slices in egg mix and fry in hot salad oil. Oil should be 3/8 to 1/2 inch deep.
4. Fry eggplant on both sides until golden brown. Put fried eggplant on a plate with paper towel to drain, pat both sides to remove excess oil.
5. Meanwhile, sauté the onions and garlic in 2 tablespoons of oil in a large pot. Then add the diced tomatoes, tomato paste, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper and simmer for 10 minutes.
6. Mix the bread crumbs and parmesan cheese in a bowl and season with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper.
7. Place a layer of eggplant slices in a casserole dish, then sprinkle part of the bread crumb mixture on top of the eggplant, and then pour some of the tomato sauce over the top of the crumb mixture.  Repeat this 3 times ending with eggplant slices on top.
8. Sprinkle the top with Mozzarella cheese.
9. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes, (without a cover on top of the casserole dish) until the cheese browns.
10. Makes about 12 servings. (I usually make two casserole dishes, one large and one small casserole dish)

As tasty as this eggplant parmesan dish is to eat, the one downside to making it, is that frying eggplant can really stink up a kitchen quite a bit.  So if you're worried about company coming over to your house for dinner and smelling the fried eggplant smell, you may want to have some scented candles on hand so you can light them afterwards to try and mask the smell. Other than that, this eggplant parmesan dish is certain to be a winner!