Eggplant parmigiana

I know what you're thinking-- Eggplant, AGAIN?!  This girl has a sick obsession with that stuff!!  Well, I am well aware of this vegetable monopolizing the blogisphere, but a) it IS delicious and b) they were only a buck a piece at the Brookline farmer's market, how could I resist!  
Oh and yes, you read that correctly, I've moved back to the city!! Actually since my last post, I've signed a lease and scored an apartment in Cleveland Circle AND started a new (and AMAZING) job... full-time with benefits baby, wooo!  Why do I digress you may be asking yourself.  Well this move does in fact impact your life directly... living in an apartment with no momma to cook or dad to grill can only mean one thing, MORE blogging, win! 
I think the weather may have officially changed for the season and now it's time to pack away your bathing suits and beach chairs, dust off your oven get your apron on!  Tonight I did just that, with a Sunday sauce and eggplant parmigiana.  I make a good sauce, but I am still tweaking and fine tuning-- once I've got it perfected I'll let you in on the recipe, but for now stick with what you know and use what you're used to whether it be grandma's classic sauce or a jar of ragu! (please don't admit to me you use ragu though.)

Eggplant Parmigiana (serves 6)
Ingredients:
3(ish) cups tomato sauce 
1 eggplant, peeled
1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs
1 egg 
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup flour
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
~1 cup mozzarella cheese 




Start by thinly slicing the peeled eggplant in half vertically. Then slice each one in half.

After you've sliced the eggplant, set up a station to bread it.  On one plate, dish out the flour.  In a flat deep dish bowl, add the egg and milk and beat it together.  In the third plate, add the Italian bread crumbs.  Have an extra large plate near by stack all the breaded eggplant.

 Once your all set up, dip each eggplant slice in the flour and shake off the excess.  The flour will help the egg mixture to stick.  Next, dip the floured eggplant into the egg, and lastly hit it with the bread crumbs. 

step 1: flour it

Step 2: dip it in the egg

Step 3: bread crumbs

 

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Spray the bottom of an 8x8 inch baking dish with a little non-stick cooking spray, then spoon a little tomato sauce into the dish, you don't need a ton or it'll get too saucy and soggy.  

Then start stacking the eggplant.  Add a little sauce every 2 layers of eggplant, and add a little cheese in the middle.  I didn't measure the sauce or cheese, just look at the pictures and eye ball it.  Just remember, you want to be able to taste the eggplant, not be overwhelmed with cheese and sauce. 

Once the dish is full, spoon a thin layer of sauce onto the top.  Chop the basil and spread it evenly on top, and add more sauce, probably between a half to a full cup.

 

 Bake it in the oven for about 40 minutes, stick a fork through it to see if it's soft.  Remove it from the oven and add the remaining cheese in an even layer.  Bake it in the oven for 5 minutes or until the cheese melts. 

 

 In lieu of spaghetti, I served the eggplant with roasted Brussels sprouts and a warm baguette. If you like a lot of sauce, add extra once it's plated. 

  I'll blog the roasted Brussels sprouts tomorrow, I never knew I liked them--honestly, I actively avoided them, but then I tried them roasted (in my college dining hall, go figure) and wow, so yummy!