Eggplant Parmesan With Bread Crumb Topping

This recipe was a nice change of pace. Instead of the usual breaded pieces, just bread crumbs on the top. You get that flavor and crunchy-ness but the flavor of the eggplant is unadulterated. Overall a good recipe. I really like the sauce. I added some fennel. Another nice aspect of this recipe is that the mozzarella is torn into pieces and provides that cheesiness that makes eggplant parm so good, but also retains some heft by itself.

The recipe says it fits into a 9x13 dish, but I am suspect of how that would work. The dishes I used are 8x12 and 8x8 and I used 4 lbs. of eggplant as the recipe calls for. I wonder if because the eggplant were bigger that made the difference.

The recipe is by Ethan Stowell and I got it from Food and Wine.

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus about 2 cups for frying

1 onion, finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, very finely chopped

Two 28-ounce cans whole, peeled Italian tomatoes, drained

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

8 small eggplants (1/2 pound each), cut lengthwise 1/2 inch thick

3 tablespoons coarsely chopped basil

1 pound lightly salted fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced and torn into small pieces

1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

3 tablespoons dry bread crumbs

In a large skillet, heat the 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the onion and garlic and cook over moderate heat until tender, about 5 minutes. Using your hands, crush the whole tomatoes into the skillet. Bring to a simmer and cook over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is very thick, about 25 minutes. Transfer the tomato sauce to a food processor and puree until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, in a very large skillet, heat 1/4 inch of olive oil. Season the eggplant slices with salt and pepper. Working in several batches, cook the eggplant over moderately high heat, turning once, until golden on both sides, about 8 minutes per batch; add more olive oil to the skillet between batches. Drain the eggplant slices on paper towels.

Preheat the oven to 400°. Spread 1 cup of the tomato sauce in a 9-by-13-inch glass or ceramic baking dish. Arrange one-third of the fried eggplant slices in the baking dish and sprinkle all over with 1 tablespoon of the chopped basil. Top with one-third of the torn mozzarella and sprinkle with 1/3 cup of the grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. Repeat this layering twice. Sprinkle the bread crumbs all over the top of the eggplant Parmesan. Bake in the upper third of the oven for about 45 minutes, until the top of the eggplant Parmesan is golden and the tomato sauce is bubbling. Let stand for 15 minutes before serving.

MAKE AHEAD The assembled eggplant Parmesan can be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 1 day. Bring the eggplant Parmesan to room temperature before baking. NOTES This dish is extremely versatile. The eggplant can be sliced lengthwise or crosswise before it's fried. In addition, the eggplant Parmesan can be baked in a glass or ceramic baking dish that is round, oval, rectangular or square.

Ready for the oven

Done!