https://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/eggplant-parmesan-no-meat-recipe • Posted by Kalli
A very nice, simple dinner. Quite tasty too.
A very nice, simple dinner. Quite tasty too.
First, assemble your ingredients. To fill a 9 x 13 pan, you need 2 medium sized eggplants. Wash them before you start working with them. Make those babies nice and shiny. Note: If you plan on putting this in the oven right after you're done assembling, pre-heat your oven to 350F. Don't pre-heat your oven until you've finished Sautéing all of the eggplant. I'll remind you in that step, so don't worry.
Watch out for the stems. I had no idea they were prickly. I ended up with barbs in my hands and was picking them out for 10 minutes or so.
Go ahead and cut the top off, it's not that tasty.
Start peeling, get all the skin off. You do NOT want the skin in this. It's really tough and chewy.
Bad picture, but this is the bottom of the eggplant, where there's a small brown spot. Cut that out.
Now for the cutting into slices. Keep in mind, when you Sauté these slices, they will get thinner. So be generous, make them a quarter of an inch thick. For mine, I made little slice marks before i started cutting, to try and make them all uniform.
Another tip to make it easier, cut the slice on the end first, then the middle. The more you have to work with when it gets down to chopping two slices apart, the less likely you are to lose a finger in the fray.
Now that you've got all your eggplant chopped, you can move on. If you only use two eggplants, you will NOT have this much eggplant piled up, so don't be worried. When I did this, I was making two pans, instead of just one.
Now you need eggs and breadcrumbs. Put them in bowls right next to each other for limited mess. Maybe put paper towels underneath them...
Beat two eggs in a bowl, if you end up needing more no worries, I did.
Dis the eggplant slices in the egg, covering them.
Transfer to breadcrumb bowl, cover generously.
Set aside on plate like this. Get them all done before you move on.
Now to Sauté it all. Use vegetable oil generously. If you don't they get too crispy. It may take some trial and error to find out how Sautéed you want them.
They should look like this on both sides when they're done.
Go ahead and pile them up. Now you're ready for assembly of the whole thing. Side Note: If you're cooking right away, start to pre-heat your oven to 350F now.
Get your 9 x 13 pan, spray it with non-stick, put spaghetti sauce in the bottom of the pan. It doesn't have to be too much, but enough to cover the bottom of the pan in a thick layer.
Now it's time for cheeeeeese. Provolone first. Layer the bottom evenly.
Next I put in Mozzarella.
Here's the fun part. Later down that baby with the eggplant pieces. Try to make it even.
Next cover in shredded cheeses.
(Optional) rip up pieces of provolone and mozzarella and throw them on top.
Layer with more sauce.
Assembly finished.
Cover with foil.
Put in oven (pre-heated for 350F), set to cook for an hour.