My family has this thing with eggplant parm.
It all started in Syracuse, in a family-owned restaurant called Grimaldi’s.
My parents would go there for date night every Friday night. They inhaled the fresh baked bread. They each sipped a glass of red wine.
And they both ordered their own eggplant parm, with no leftovers to bring home.
After I was born, I joined them on these weekly dates, a breadstick in my hand and small pieces of their meal fed to me.
I share my mother’s pickiness when scrutinizing this dish. The eggplant should be perfectly cooked, but not soggy. It should have a nice crust, but the inside should be mealy. There should be a perfect blend of cheese, sauce, eggplant, and crunch – but it must be balanced.
I’ve yet to find such a dish at any of my favorite Italian restaurants. But I’ve finally – FINALLY – been able to recreate it at home.
This eggplant parm has joined our weekly rotation of recipes, along with Friday night burgers, weekend muffins, and easy kimchi cauliflower fried rice. I like to whip this up for Sunday dinner, along with a salad and a nice bottle of Italian red.
It’s not the quickest recipe, but it’s among my easiest.
And most delicious.
Ingredients
- 2 eggplants
- 2 cups of your favorite pasta sauce (I like arrabiata or a fresh tomato sauce)
- 3 cups of shredded mozzarella
- Panko bread crumbs
- Olive oil
- Salt & pepper
- Basil
Directions
- Preheat the oven for 400 degrees F.
- Slice the bottoms and tops from the eggplants. Stand them upright, and slice into 4 long quarters. Repeat with other eggplant.
- Generously salt the eggplant slices on both sides. Arrange them upright and allow them to sit for 30-45 minutes, to remove all the water. Prepare the sauce or a salad while the eggplant rests.
- Rinse the salt from the eggplant, and dry thoroughly. Lie the pieces flat.
- Using a chef’s knife, gently pierce the eggplant diagonally in both directions, taking care not to slice the eggplant all the way through.
- Arrange the slices in shallow baking sheets. Drizzle olive oil over the slices, and season well with salt and pepper.
- Bake the eggplant until golden, about 20-25 minutes. While eggplant is baking, fill a shallow bowl with panko bread crumbs. Drizzle about 1-2 teaspoons of olive oil and combine. The breadcrumbs should be well coated in olive oil, but not drowned in it.
- Remove the eggplant from the oven.
- Top the eggplants generously in the following manner:
- Panko oil mixture (~1 tablespoon)
- Mozzarella (~2 tablespoons)
- Sauce (~2 tablespoons)
- Mozzarella (~2 tablespoons)
- Panko oil mixture  (~1 tablespoon)
- Return eggplant to oven and bake until cheese has melted, about 10 minutes or so.
- Serve and enjoy!
Craving Italian? You will love this restaurant’s famous spaghetti, a summery risotto, and this healthier version of cacio e pepe.
You can find (and sort!) all my recipes here.Â
