Lea's Effortless "Eggplant Parmesan"
You noticed the quotation marks around Eggplant Parmesan, didn't you? Well, the reason for that is because this dish isn't exactly your typical Eggplant Parmesan dish, whereas your eggplant is sliced, dredged in flour, dipped in egg and breaded. Not this version.
You see? I'm a bit of a lazy person. I don't mean lazy to mean that I sit around and do nothing all day (except on Sundays). When I say that I'm lazy, it's a method, not a state of being. I find that I'm always trying to figure out ways to achieve the same efficient outcome, but in a more simplistic way. I.E. - I'm giving you this amazing recipe for a dish that doesn't require a ton of time to create! THERE IS A METHOD TO MY MADNESS.
How is this more efficient, you may ask? Well for starters, I don't individually bread each slice of eggplant. In fact, I don't slice at all. I large dice, making it some much easier to combine all of the ingredients and bake to perfection.
A couple of things to note - it's not supposed to be a low-carb, clean eating dish. I know that when people start throwing around ingredients like eggplant, cauliflower, whatever... There's this expectation that there is some alteration to a classic recipe. There are panko crumbs in this dish and they are carby. AND DELISH! I'm sure there's some way to manipulate this dish to make it more keto-friendly, but I'm just disclosing that right now.
Another item to note is that eggplant is no joke. In its raw state, it's bitter and not that appetizing, so it is IMPERATIVE that you work with it and treat it with the respect it deserves, and that means ensuring that it is thoroughly cooked. There is nothing worse than undercooked eggplant... Okay, maybe there are worse things, but you get it.
But if you prepare this dish correctly according to the recipe, you will NOT be disappointed and this beautiful, deep colored vegetable will likely make multiple appearances in your shopping cart! Enjoy!
Effortless "Eggplant Parmesan"
Ingredients:
1 Large eggplant
1 Cup shredded mozzarella
2 Tomatoes
1/2 Cup basil
3 Cloves Garlic
1 1/2 Cups marinara sauce
1/4 Cup Panko breadcrumbs
2 Tbsp parmesan cheese
Olive oil
Plenty of salt
Plenty of pepper
Instructions:
Preheat Oven / Prep the Eggplant. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a large bowl with paper towels. Large dice the eggplant and place the pieces in the large bowl. Sprinkle about a teaspoon of salt over the eggplant and toss to coat. Set aside for 20 minutes. Note: The salt draws out the bitter water from the eggplant. IT IS NECESSARY.
Prep Everything Else. Medium dice the tomatoes. Take all basil leaves and stack them on top of one another. Roll the leaves and then slice cross wise. Mince or finely chop garlic cloves.
Combine Ingredients / Bake. After the 20 minutes has passed on the eggplant and the paper towels have absorbed most of the bitter liquid, pull them out of the bowl and discard. Add the mozzarella, diced tomatoes, sliced basil and minced garlic to the bowl. Toss to thoroughly combine. Season with salt and pepper. In a 9x9 baking dish, spoon about 3/4 cup of marinara into the dish to coat the bottom. Add your eggplant mixture to the dish and give a light drizzle of olive oil on top. Spoon the remaining marinara sauce to the dish and bake uncovered for 45 minutes until bubbly.
Prepare Panko Topping. While the eggplant is baking, in a small bowl, combine the panko breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper.
Top Eggplant & Finish. Once eggplant has cooked for 45 minutes, remove from oven. Sprinkle with your panko/parm mixture to give a proper coating on top. Return dish to the oven for 10 more minutes. Let cool and serve! Enjoy!
