Roasted Eggplant Parmesan Stacks

So it's been a long time since I posted a recipe...I posted the following photo onto Facebook and found that a few folks wanted to know how to make this, so I decided a blog would be a quick and easy way to put it out there :) 

(If you've never seen the blog before, there are a lot of archived recipes, along with a few of my musings on running and life in general. Feel free to look around.)

Anyhow, I'd made a few different types of eggplant parmesan recipes, but I didn't like how soggy the eggplant became. This is my take on Mario Batali's eggplant parmesan recipe, which does stacks instead of a layered lasagna-like configuration.

Ingredients:

1 large eggplant
1/2 jar of pasta sauce (I used Rao's roasted garlic)
1 cup Italian bread crumbs (more as needed)
1 cup flour
2 eggs
10 oz fresh mozzarella
Wedge of Parmesan Reggiano (or about 1/2-3/4 cup of shredded Parmesan)
Salt, pepper to taste
Olive oil/canola oil/etc for browning

1) Slice the eggplant into 1/4-1/2 inch slices. I got exactly 18 slices from my eggplant, as you can see above.  Place the slices on paper towels, and sprinkle with a little salt to draw moisture and the bitterness from the eggplant. Let sit for about a half hour, then pat dry with more paper towels to remove liquid.

2) Slice your mozzarella into 1/2 inch slices. For the above, I ended up with 12 slices. If using a wedge of Parmesan, use a grater to make around 1/2 to 3/4 cup of cheese, and set aside.

3) Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 

4) Place your flour in one bowl, crack your eggs and stir into another bowl, and finally put the breadcrumbs in a third bowl to set up a dredging station.  Dip the eggplant into the flour, coating both sides, then dip into the egg, and finally coat with the breadcrumbs.  Do this with all slices of eggplant. 

5) Using your preferred oil (I used a combination of olive oil and grapeseed for browning), place into a cast iron skillet and heat oil over medium high heat. I used about 3-4 tablespoons of oil for my entire batch. You can use more for a deep fry, or less to make it a bit healthier.

6) Lightly brown the eggplant on both sides, about 2-3 minutes per side depending on how hot your cast iron skillet is. Place on paper towels to drain oil. 

7) Using a 13x9 dish, assemble your stacks. I did the largest slice of eggplant on the bottom, followed by a slice of mozzarella, a healthy sprinkle of Parmesan, and 1-2 tablespoons of sauce, followed by another slice of eggplant, cheese, and sauce, and finally the last eggplant slice, Parmesan, and a dab of sauce to finish it off. 

8) Once assembled, place the dish into the oven and bake at 375 for about 10-12 minutes. The eggplant slices are already warm from the browning, so you're really just trying to melt the cheese and get a nice consistency. I did mine for 10 because I didn't want my eggplant to get too mushy...however, if you prefer a softer eggplant, cook for longer. 

Enjoy!!!

Next up....this strawberry-blueberry cobbler :)