Makeover Eggplant Parmesan Food

EGGPLANT PARMESAN

Steps:

• Arrange the eggplant slices on several baking sheets and sprinkle generously all over with kosher salt. Set aside to let the bitter juices weep from the eggplant, about 1 hour.
• Transfer the eggplant to a colander in the sink, and rinse well under cold running water. Transfer eggplant to a work surface and blot very dry with paper towels.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, breadcrumbs, oregano, thyme, and season with pepper.
• Place the flour in a medium lipped plate or bowl. In another medium bowl, whisk the egg and milk together. Dredge an eggplant slice in the flour, then dip it in the egg, and finally dredge it in the breadcrumb mixture. Shake off any excess breading and transfer the eggplant to a baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining eggplant.
• In a large straight-sided skillet, pour the oil to a depth of 1/2 inch. Heat the oil over medium heat until it registers 400 degrees F on a deep frying thermometer. (The oil must be heated to 400 degrees F. so that the breaded eggplant, when added, will drop the temperature of the oil to the proper frying temperature of 375 degrees F.)
• Working in small batches, fry the eggplant slices, turning once, until golden brown, about 3 minutes per batch. Using tongs, transfer to a paper towel-lined baking sheet and season with salt to taste. Repeat with the remaining eggplant.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly brush a 15 x 10- x 2-inch-baking dish with olive oil. Cover the bottom of the baking dish with 1/3 of the marinara sauce and arrange half of the eggplant over the sauce. Cover the eggplant with another 1/3 of the sauce. Scatter half of the Parmesan and half of the mozzarella over the sauced eggplant. Repeat with the remaining eggplant, sauce, Parmesan, and mozzarella. Bake until hot and just beginning to brown, about 30 minutes. Serve immediately.
• Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Saute the onion and garlic, stirring, until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes and the herb sprigs and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes.
• Remove and discard the herb sprigs. Stir in the salt and season with pepper to taste. Use immediately, store covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 2 months.
• Yield: about 3 1/2 cups
• Copyright 2001 Television Food Network, G.P. All rights reserved

ROASTED EGGPLANT PARMESAN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and arrange three racks evenly spaced.
• Lay the eggplant in one layer on three sheet pans and brush both sides with olive oil, using all the oil. Sprinkle with the oregano, crushing it lightly in your hands, then sprinkle with 1 1/2 tablespoons salt and 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper. Bake for 15 minutes. Turn the slices and rotate the pans in the oven and bake for another 10 minutes, until tender. Leave the oven at 400 degrees F.
• In a 10 by 14 by 2-inch ceramic baking dish, spread a third of the marinara sauce. Arrange a third of the eggplant on top in one layer. Scatter a third of the basil, a third of the mozzarella, a third of the goat cheese, and a third of the Parmesan on top. Repeat twice, starting with the marinara and ending with the Parmesan, making sure each layer is evenly distributed.
• For the topping, place the bread crumbs, garlic, and basil in a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the 1/4 cup olive oil and 1 teaspoon salt and pulse to moisten the crumbs. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the dish.
• Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until bubbling and golden brown. Allow to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving.

MAKEOVER EGGPLANT PARMESAN

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven, saute onion in oil until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Add the crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, wine, tomato paste and 3/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 25-30 minutes or until desired consistency, stirring occasionally., Meanwhile, in shallow bowl, whisk eggs and water. Place flour in a separate shallow bowl. In another bowl, combine the bread crumbs, salt, pepper and remaining Italian seasoning. Dip eggplant slices into flour then in egg mixture; coat with crumb mixture. Place on baking sheets coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until tender and golden brown, turning once. Meanwhile, cook spaghetti according to package directions., Spoon 2 cups sauce over eggplants; top with cheeses. Bake 4-5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted., Drain spaghetti. Serve remaining sauce over spaghetti; top with eggplant slices. Sprinkle with parsley.

ROASTED EGGPLANT PARMESAN

Steps:

• Line a baking sheet with a layer of paper towel or a clean kitchen towel. Trim off the top and bottom of the eggplant and slice into 2-centimeter (1-inch) thick disks. Place the slices in a single layer onto the paper towel lined baking sheet and evenly sprinkle both sides with the kosher salt.
• Allow the salted eggplant to sit for about 20 minutes. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Meanwhile, for the sauce, combine the tomatoes and their juices with the butter, halved onion and Parmesan rind, if using, in a medium saucepan. Pick the basil leaves from the stems, add the stems to the tomatoes and set the leaves aside. Place a lid on the pan so that it is a little off kilter to allow steam out and place over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, for at least 30 minutes, or even longer for a more intense tomato flavor.
• Pat the eggplant dry with some paper towel or a clean kitchen towel and remove from the baking sheet. Coat the bottom of the baking sheet with the olive oil and arrange the eggplant slices in a single layer. Flip the eggplant slices over to coat both sides in oil. Season with pepper and a bit more salt (don't worry, lots of the salt that you previously put on has been wiped away so the eggplant won't taste super salty). Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, flipping halfway through, until golden brown on both sides.
• Remove the eggplant from the oven and top each with a spoon of the tomato sauce and sprinkle with the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Return the eggplant to the oven and cook for another 8 to 10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.
• To serve, spoon some sauce onto your plates and divide and stack the roasted eggplant parm on top. Tear up the fresh mozzarella and basil leaves, scatter on top and season with salt and pepper.

MINI EGGPLANT PARMESAN

Steps:

• For the sauce: Heat the oil in a heavy medium saucepan over medium. Add the garlic, shallots and salt. Stir until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the tomato sauce, basil, oregano and crushed red pepper. Simmer the sauce until the flavors blend and the sauce thickens, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Mix in the vinegar.
• For the eggplant: Mix the flour, salt and pepper in a shallow bowl. Place the panko breadcrumbs in another shallow bowl. Whisk the egg whites in a medium bowl until frothy. Dip each eggplant slice in the flour mixture, then into the beaten egg whites, and then into the panko breadcrumbs to coat completely.
• Heat the oil in a heavy medium skillet over medium-high heat until hot (the surface will appear to be shimmering), 2 to 3 minutes. Add half of the eggplant slices. Cook until deep golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Transfer the eggplant to a paper-towel-lined plate. Fry the remaining eggplant. (Can be made 1 hour ahead. Let stand at room temperature.)
• Preheat a broiler. Toss the mozzarella and Parmesan in a small bowl until well blended. Spread 1 generous teaspoon of the sauce over each eggplant slice. Top with a rounded teaspoon of the cheese mixture; spread out to cover and press lightly to adhere. Transfer the eggplant slices to a rimmed baking sheet. Broil until the cheese has melted, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer the mini eggplant parmesans to a platter and garnish each with small basil leaf. Let stand 2 to 3 minutes before serving.

GLUTEN-FREE EGGPLANT PARMESAN

Steps:

• Special equipment: a broiler-safe 9-by-13-inch baking dish
• Position 2 oven racks in the center and upper third of the oven, and preheat to 425 degrees F. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment.
• Cook the oil, tomato paste, garlic and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring, until the oil turns yellow, about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes. Rinse the can with about 1 1/2 cups water, and add the tomato water and basil to the skillet. Bring to a simmer, and cook until the sauce thickens, about 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, put the almond flour in a medium bowl. Whisk the eggs and 3 tablespoons water in another medium bowl until frothy.
• Lay out the eggplant on a clean surface, and season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper. Dip the eggplant in the egg, press into the almond flour to coat, then place on the prepared baking sheets. Bake until the eggplant is tender and the crust is golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes. Rotate the baking sheets if the top one is browning too quickly.
• Turn the oven to broil. Spread a little of the sauce on the bottom of a broiler-safe 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Arrange half the eggplant in the dish in as close to an even layer as you can without overlapping too much. Spread half the remaining sauce on top, then 1/4 cup of the mozzarella. Top with the remaining eggplant, sauce and mozzarella and the Parmesan. Broil until the cheese is melted and browned, about 1 minute. Sprinkle the parsley over the top, and serve immediately, while the cheese is still warm.

EGGPLANT PARMESAN

Steps:

• In a food processor, puree tomatoes; transfer to a medium saucepan and stir in olive oil. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer and cook until thickened, 30 minutes. Season tomato sauce with salt and pepper.
• Meanwhile, in a colander, toss eggplant with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. Let stand 30 minutes. Press slices between a double layer of paper towels to dry. Dredge eggplant in flour (shaking off excess), then dip in eggs (allowing excess to drip off), and sprinkle lightly with breadcrumbs.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place a wire rack on a rimmed baking sheet; set aside. In a large skillet, pour enough vegetable oil to come halfway up side. Heat oil over medium-high until pinch of breadcrumbs dropped in skillet sizzles. In batches, fry eggplant until golden, 2 to 3 minutes per side; transfer to rack to drain.
• Spread 1 cup tomato sauce in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Layer half the eggplant over sauce and sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan. Top with 1 1/2 cups sauce, then remaining eggplant. Finish with remaining sauce, 1/4 cup Parmesan, and mozzarella. Bake until lightly browned and bubbling, 40 to 45 minutes.
• To Freeze: Assemble dish but do not bake; wrap tightly with foil and freeze, up to 3 months. Thaw completely, then bake as directed.

EASY EGGPLANT PARMESAN

Steps:

• Arrange a layer of eggplant slices in a colander. Sprinkle generously with salt. Continue layering and salting all eggplant slices. Let stand 30 minutes. Rinse and pat dry. Dip each eggplant slice in beaten egg, and dredge with breadcrumbs.
• Heat oil in a heavy skillet. Over medium high heat fry eggplant in hot oil about 2 minutes per side until golden. Drain on absorbent paper.
• Preheat oven to temperature 350°F Arrange half the eggplant slices in the bottom of baking dish sprayed lightly with nonstick spray. Spread half the sauce over top. Sprinkle with half the mozzarella and half the Parmesan. Repeat layers.
• Bake 20-25 minutes or until mixture is bubbly.