by Nancy Jo
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Photo by Sarah Shatz
A&M's Testing Notes:
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3 pounds
eggplant (Choose the large variety. Make sure they are firm and smooth. Also, choose male eggplants. They have fewer seeds and have a rounder, smoother bottom)
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1 cup
flour
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salt
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generous amounts of olive oil
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1 cup
grated parmigiano-reggiano
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1/2 pound
buffalo-milk mozzarella (if the balls are small, get two)
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2 28 ounces
cans of San Marzano (any brand is fine) canned whole peeled tomatoes (add another can if you want extra sauce left over)
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3
cloves garlic, thinly sliced
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enough olive oil to cover the pan
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Peel the eggplant and slice long ways into 1/4 inch slices.
Ask the hotline about this step!Sprinkle each layer with salt and place into a colander, overlapping and salting as you go. Each slice should be salted. After you fill the colander, place a plate on top and weight it with a heavy pan or a tea kettle filled with water. Let the eggplant sweat for 30 minutes or more.
Ask the hotline about this step!While the eggplant sweats, make the sauce.
Ask the hotline about this step!Cover the bottom of a sauce pan with olive oil and heat over medium high heat. Add the sliced garlic and let it cook until is sizzles (do not brown the garlic). Add the canned whole tomatoes and their juice and salt. Stir and chop coarsely using a potato masher or two knives chopping crossways. Lower the heat and simmer until reduced by almost half.
Ask the hotline about this step!Remove the eggplant fro the colander and thoroughly pat dry each slice.
Ask the hotline about this step!Heat the oven to 450 degrees. Cover the bottom of a baking sheet or two with olive oil.
Ask the hotline about this step!Dredge the eggplant slices in flour, shaking off any excess. Place on the baking sheets and drizzle the each slice with olive oil. Bake until brown on one side (about 15 minutes or so) and tun over and brown the other side. Repeat until you have cooked all the eggplant.
Ask the hotline about this step!Using a 7x11 baking dish (I like ceramic or earthenware, but you can use stainless steel as well), spread a thin layer of sauce on the bottom and layer the eggplant until it completely covers the bottom (it's like a puzzle!).
Ask the hotline about this step!Sprinkle generously with the grated parmigiano-reggiano. Add another layer of sauce and then the eggplant. Continue to build the layers until you are about two layers from the top, then add a single layer of sliced mozzarella. Finish with a couple more layers of eggplant, sauce, and parmesan. Finish the top with parmesan.
Ask the hotline about this step!Bake on the upper third of a 400 degree oven. Check it after it' been in the oven for 20 minutes. You may find that it throws off more liquid as it bakes. If so, press down on the eggplant and draw off any excess liquid. Cook for another 15 minutes or so. Let stand for a good 15 or 20 minutes before serving.
Ask the hotline about this step!So I went with the suggestion to soak the eggplant slices in very salty water, under weights, for about an hour. After I dredged and baked them (on 3 baking sheets, btw) they came out fairly crispy. I layered them in a 9X14 pan- which is more standard, I think, than 7X11- so there were fewer layers. I threw some chopped basil in the middle along and subbed some sliced burrata for the mozzarella and threw a little more burrata on top. BIG HIT with family, far easier and far less oil than the usual recipe. Waiting while the leftovers heat up for lunch. Hurry, oven, hurry!
Just made this for dinner tonight- so simple so all the ingredients shine through. I just roasted the eggplant after salting without dredging in flour so this can certainly be gluten-free as well.
I've made this without flour too, and found it fantastic. One of my favorite recipes on the site! ;o)
Made this tonight. Excellent! Used Japanese eggplants (no salting or soaking!!), dusted lightly with Wondra flour before roasting. Added two cooked Italian sausages that I sliced paper thin, and layered between the eggplant and mozzarella. The family really liked this. And it's so easy. Best eggplant parm ever, hands down. ;o)
Loved this! I can't wait to use the eggplant technique again! I added sauteed spinach and used Marcella Hazan's tomato sauce recipe cause I had leftovers lying around. I'm pretty sure I could have eaten the whole pan myself!
This was amazing! We soaked the slices as some others here suggested.
Hi Nancy Jo. I blogged about your recipe on my site
http://fogcitykitchen.com/nancy-jos-eggplant-parm/
Just wanted to let you know. Also I loved your Nonna's recipe.
Ok I made this tonight. Definitely will make again. I loved this technique, much lighter than the usual Egpplant Parm recipes. Next time I will soak the slices in salted water like some people have suggested here. I found that even after rinsing the slices pretty thoroughly they were still a bit salty. Overall really tasty though. Thanks for sharing.
I made this tonight & it was delicious, but I made the mistake of thinking this was a quick recipe. It's one of my flaws - the inability to look at directions and accurately add up the time. While we didn't eat until 9pm, it was worth the wait, and thankfully we have leftovers for the rest of the week.
I made this last night and it came out great, except that it was WAY too salty. Do you rinse off the eggplant? Or did I use too much salt? (I didn't add any to the sauce because I tasted a piece of eggplant first and realized it was already too salty).
I have been eyeing this recipe for a while and finally made it yesterday. I omitted the salt from the sauce as it seemed there would plenty of residual salt in the eggplant as well as in the canned tomatoes, even after wiping the slices dry. Next time I will use fresh tomatoes.
It is delicious! I have a killer eggplant parmesan recipe that requires frying the eggplant slices in oil. This recipe knocks off a huge chunk of time, and there is no difference between baked and fried slices in terms of crispiness.
I used a 9" x 11" glass baking dish.
Very good. Still not exactly health food, but a nice deep rich flavor. I soaked the eggplant slices in salted water about an hour before patting dry and proceeding with the recipe.
Wonderful recipe! This was a perfect use for all the eggplant and fresh tomatoes I have received in my CSA box. The only change I made was using fresh tomatoes vs canned. This seems like a much healthier way to enjoy eggplant parm. I love it! It's such a satisfying dish. I love the simplicity of the recipe, and the excellent results!
I made this recipe today and it was INCREDIBLE. I have been searching for a melanzane alla parmigiana recipe since eating it in Rome and falling in love. Recipes I'd found on the internet pan-fried the eggplant slices, which was way too labor intensive to attempt too often. Baking the slices made the eggplant prep part far less exhausting for home-cooking, and also less greasy! Wonderful wonderful. I took Maria Teresa's suggestion of soaking the eggplant slices in water (I added salt to the water), and let the slices submerge for an hour (I put a plastic lid and weighed it with a kettle). It worked out great. I added basil to the layers and also sprinkled the top layer very lightly with panko for crunch.
We made this over the weekend and it was delicious along side some pan fried italian sausage. It seemed so much lighter than versions with breaded eggplant, but still very substantial. I'm looking forward to leftovers in my lunch box today too! Thanks for sharing this recipe.
I made this tonight and both my boyfriend and I loved it. I thought that pre-baking the eggplant slices was brilliant instead of frying each slice individually and the cheese in the center was such a good idea. He loved it because the eggplant was devoid of bitterness and it was entirely moist and delicious.
I made this recipe a few weekends ago using my first ever crop of organic eggplants. The one layer of cheese was perfect and for the first time I served a wonderful eggplant parm which was not overwhelmed by oil or cheese! I will make it often thanks!!
I made this recipe a few weekends ago using my first ever crop of organic eggplants. The one layer of cheese was perfect and for the first time I served a wonderful eggplant parm which was not overwhelmed by oil or cheese! I will make it often thanks!!
i've been looking at this recipe for a while now. tonight i found myself with a free evening and decided to try it out. everything should have been a disaster: i didn't have enough eggplant, i used tinfoil to make "baking sheets" the only mozzarella i had was the processed part-skim kind, i had non-fancy crushed tomatoes, and i burnt some of my eggplant (I didn't read the part about how it browns on the bottom first...oops). In the end, though, none of this matters. it was amazing! equal to the best eggplant parmesan i ever had in a place in brooklyn that i've never been able to find again. next time, i will either use real mozzarella or none at all (it would still be amazing). this is a dish which i know will become part of my regular rotation. it is that good and that simple. THANK YOU!
delicious recipe. i found that the buffalo mozz stayed somewhat tougher than the rest of the layers. especially in reheat scenario. maybe subbing fresh mozz the editor suggested would do the trick?
Nancy, what does one need to know to pick male eggplants? it seems that a website devoted to perfecting a recipe would be more precise and seek to define terms or issues that are not self-evident. can't wait to have the answer!
Hi Nancy,
Just wanted to thank you for your delicious Eggplant parmesan recipe. I made it and loved it! I wish I had made more the first time because even my picky eaters at home couldn't get enough of it!
I found your recipe through a post in facebook and Im glad I did! If you have time, I hope you could also drop by our place at http://www.foodista.com Thanks!
Your recipe is very similar to the one we make in Italy, I will give your version a try. Just as a side note, I put the sliced eggplant in cold water for 1 hour and all the bitterness comes out (you can see the water purple and it tastes bitter). Then I dry the eggplant in kitchen towels pressing well, I find it a better option then salting them because they remain dry and no bitter aftertaste. Maria Teresa jorge - Italy
I made this last night using your technique and it was wonderful. The eggplant was indeed crispy and I loved the hidden surprise of fresh mozzarella in the center. A nice lesson in moderation compared to other eggplant parms.
this looks delicious!
WOW!!! How delish! Made it for dinner this evening, with pasta.
The kids 12,8 and 4 LOVED it! The mozzarella in the middle was soft and soooo yummy! It was our first crisp fall day...perfect ending!
Eggplant Parmesan is one of our favorite winter dishes, I look forward to trying this version.
Love the idea of putting the mozzarella in the center layer only. I'll have to remember that for next time.
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We found a serrated vegetable peeler was the easiest way to peel the eggplant.
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Perfectly even slices of eggplant -- nice, Merrill!
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As we layered the eggplant in a colander, we salted each layer.
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Weighing down the eggplant forces out some of the extraneous liquid. In addition to the can of tomatoes, we also added a quart of boxed chicken stock.
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The simple sauce involved only hot olive oil, freshly sliced garlic, and San Marzano tomatoes. Oh, and salt. Of course.
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To break down the tomatoes, Amanda used her favorite potato masher. Given any excuse, she will use the potato masher...
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After the eggplant had drained for about an hour, Merrill dried off each piece.
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Then, we lightly floured the slices, tapping off the excess.
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The slices browned on the bottom first, so be sure to check them by flipping them over.
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The eggplant may not look promising at this stage, but the payoff comes later.
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Nancy Jo calls for a 7x11 baking dish. We used one that was slightly larger and ended up with fewer layers, but it was delicious, and the edges were delightfully crispy.
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After 2/3 of the eggplant had been layered with sauce and Parmesan, we added the buffalo mozzarella.
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Pre-baking.
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As you can see, all the layers are beautifully integrated.
I served this last night at a dinner party, alongside polenta and broccoli rabe, and it was a hit! I have a tiny Manhattan oven, so the eggplant had to roast in several batches, but it was worth it. I didn't add any extra salt to the tomato sauce and found that the dish was seasoned just right that way.