I try to keep recipes as simple as possible since i don't like to spend all day in the kitchen, therefore the sauce is not homemade and the cheese is usually pre-shredded ;) Happy Cooking!
Need:
SMALL eggplant-thinly sliced (otherwise you will be frying FOREVER)
Jar of fave marinara
Shredded Parmesan (or mozzarella--use what you have i say)
Italian Seasoned bread crumbs (could use plain or make your own but this way it's more Italian)
fave vegi oil and butter (yes, butter)
2-3 eggs depending on size of eggplant
To Do:
Heat oven to 350
heat 1T oil & 1T butter in "frying pan"
While oil is heating beat your eggs and start coating your eggplant slices--first in the eggs then in the breadcrumbs
Fry eggplant on each side until golden brown; place on paper towel or paper bag to drain.
Add more oil and butter as needed--this may be after each group depending on pan size and eggplant size/thickness.
Once eggplant is fried and dried, layer bottom only of casserole dish--eggplant can over lap. Cover with thin layer of sauce then grated cheese. Add the next layer of eggplant, sauce, and cheese. Continue until all the eggplant has been used or the dish is full, whichever comes first. :)
Top-most layer should be sauce then cheese, 'cause who wants eggplant on the very top.
Bake about 20m, this is assuming your eggplant slices are almost paper thin (like mine). If you like your slices a little thicker, bake 10m longer.
Finally--keep experimenting if it doesn't come out exactly right (whatever that means) the first time! It's how i came up with this recipe in the first place.
Note: If you want kiddos to help, put the breadcrumbs in a zipper close plastic bag. This way they can shake it up and you have one less step to do yourself. Both my boys eat the heck out of this recipe which is great since they don't like eggplant.
Modification: You could try battering the eggplant, spray both sides with cooking spray, and then baking them to get a similar "fried" effect. I have not yet tried this as I'm still recovering from the last time this recipe was made. If someone out there gives this mod a go, I'd love to know how it turns out!
If you have a question or I wasn't clear on a direction just post in the comments section.
