Alaskan eggplant parmesan, deconstructed summer-style

filed under:
tomatoes eggplant basil bread crumbs

Delicious recipes are included in each issue of the South Anchorage Farmers' Market Newsletter, be sure to sign up!
subscribe to newsletter via rss • subscribe to recipes via rss • subscribe to newsletter via email
download the print-friendly version of this recipe

I invented this recipe for the wonderful fresh eggplants from the Valley. The slices stay crunchy, and you can really taste the eggplant because you don’t drench everything in sauce and mozzarella. It’s a variation of a proper eggplant parmesan in Cooks’ Illustrated (January 2004), but it’s a much lighter dish, and to my taste, more delicious. If you don’t have fresh tomatoes to make the fast fresh tomato sauté, make the easy marinara sauce—see the following recipes. You can also use these breaded and baked eggplant slices to make a fantastic eggplant parmesan pizza…

It’s much more fun doing this recipe with another person—there’s quite a bit of dredging and drenching to do. You won’t be surprised to learn that I always make a double batch of this because it’s so yummy, and the slices freeze well! Serve this with a side salad, like the green salad with garlicky red wine mustard vinaigrette.

Note: If you’re not using really fresh, local eggplant, it might be bitter unless you salt and drain it first. Sprinkle with a tablespoon of salt, then drain for 30 minutes in a colander. Rinse under water, and dry on kitchen towels to remove as much liquid as possible.

2 pounds eggplant (2 medium eggplants), cut crosswise into ½” thick rounds
6-8 slices of bread (you know my preference: whole wheat sourdough)
½ to 1 cup fresh-grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup flour
3 eggs
sea salt or kosher salt and freshly-ground pepper
spray vegetable oil (or regular vegetable oil)
fast fresh tomato sauté OR marinara sauce (recipes follow)

1. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Grind bread slices in food processor to make fine, even crumbs. Transfer crumbs to a pie plate and if your parmesan isn’t grated very fine, grind it up with a few pulses, too. Add cheese, ¼ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper to the crumbs and mix together.
1. Combine flour and 1 teaspoon pepper in large ziplock bag; shake to combine. Beat eggs in second pie plate. Place 8 to 10 eggplant slices in bag with flour; seal bag and shake to coat eggplant. Remove eggplant slices, shaking off excess flour, dip in eggs, let excess egg run off, then coat evenly with bread crumb mixture; set breaded slices on wire racks on your counter. Repeat with remaining eggplant.
2. Put 2 heavy, rimmed baking sheets (preferably non-stick) in the oven and let them preheat for 10 minutes or so. Remove them one at a time from the oven, spray or brush thoroughly with vegetable oil, and load the eggplant on the sheets in a single layer. Bake until eggplant is well-browned and crisp, about 30 minutes, rotating baking sheets after 10 minutes, and flipping slices after 20 minutes.
3. While the eggplant bakes, make the fast fresh tomato sauté or the marinara sauce. (You can make the marinara the day before, if you like. Just reheat before serving.)
4. Serve each person several slices of eggplant, overlapping slightly, on plates with little bowls of the tomato sauté. This is especially nice alongside a green salad.

fast fresh tomato sauté
This recipe is based on one from Vegetarian Suppers from Deborah Madison’s Kitchen.

3 cups of sliced, quartered, or diced tomatoes
1 shallot or ½ a small white onion, minced
1 large garlic clove, minced
small handful basil leaves, slivered, or 1 teaspoon thyme, minced (whatever fresh herbs you have hanging around, or growing in a pot on your deck—oregano, maybe?)
1 tablespoon olive oil
sea salt or kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
a drizzle of balsamic vinegar

1. Toss the tomatoes with the onion or shallot, garlic, herbs, olive oil, and a pinch of salt. You can let the mixture marinate for up to 2 hours or use it right away.
2. Just before you’re ready to eat, heat a skillet and when hot, add the tomatoes. Swirl the pan around to warm them through, add a few drops of balsamic vinegar and some pepper. They should just warm up and release their juices, not fall apart.

marinara sauce

4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
two 28 ounce cans whole tomatoes, or diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons dried oregano
sea salt or kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

1. Coarsely chop the tomatoes if using whole ones.
2. Saute the garlic in the olive oil until fragrant (30 seconds or so). Add the tomatoes and cook the sauce until nicely thickened, about 30 minutes.
3. Crush the oregano between your palms as you sprinkle it into the pot. Stir to combine, and add salt and pepper to taste. If you want a smoother sauce, put some of the sauce into your blender, or use a hand-held immersion blender to puree some of the chunks out of the sauce.