Meal: Dinner 
Dietary Type: Vegetarian 
Prep Time: 20 minutes 
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Serves: 4 

The Dish
Eggplant Parmesan definitely falls into that classic comfort category…layered, breaded, cheesy, and saucy. Simply iconic Italian food. This is our take.

There are a couple of steps (and some extra measures you can opt into) to make this dish extraordinary.

First, "salting" of the eggplant. This step is pretty significant, the salting step helps remove the excess moisture out of the eggplant. Making sure we don’t suffer with overly soggy casserole. Next, depends on your crunch/toast factor. You can sauté the breaded eggplant before assembling the casserole. You can also toast the panko bread crumbs in the oven before breading for more extra crunch. Or, you can partially bake the breaded eggplant in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes before assembling the casserole, for yet another option to add a bit more crunch. Lastly, of course, you can do neither, assemble and bake as you like.

Hacking this Recipe: How about some simple steps to cut down on prep time? This recipe calls for a little semi-homemade tomato sauce. You can absolutely use your favorite jarred marinara sauce. We added a little extra garlic to the sauce, you can sub in or sub out the garlic as you see fit. You can also skip the seasoned flour step by using already-seasoned bread crumbs. Lastly, for the salad, feel free to use your favorite salad dressing here—picking something a little on the tart citrus side.  

Ingredients
2 (700 g) medium eggplant, sliced into rounds (~1/2 inch or 1.5 cm)
1 tablespoon (18 g) salt 
24 oz. (680 g) tomato sauce or jarred marinara 
4 (13 g) garlic cloves, peeled and minced 
8 oz (226 g) fresh mozzarella, sliced 
1/3 cup (10 g) parmesan, grated 
1/3 cup (3 g) fresh basil, for garnish

Breading: 
2/3 cup (100 g) whole wheat flour 
1 teaspoon (6 g) salt 
1 teaspoon (1 g) Italian seasoning 
1/4 teaspoon (generous pinch) cracked black pepper 
2 eggs, whisked
1 1/2 cups (95 g) whole wheat panko bread crumbs 

‘Giardiniera’ Side Salad: 
1/2 head (250 g) cauliflower, cut into florets  
1/2 (75 g) red bell pepper, sliced  
1/2 (75 g) green bell pepper, sliced  
2 (50 g) celery sticks, chopped 
2 (50 g) carrots, chopped 

Dressing:
2 tablespoons (30 ml) lemon juice 
2 tablespoons (30 ml) extra virgin olive oil 
1/2 teaspoon (3 g) salt 
Pinch of cracked black pepper 
Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes 

Preparation 

• Place sliced eggplant on a large plate or platter and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon (18 g) salt. Set aside for 30 minutes. 
• Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C). 
• Combine flour, 1 teaspoon (6 g) salt, Italian seasoning, and pepper in a large bowl. Whisk to combine the seasoned flour. Set up the rest of the breading station, placing eggs in the second  bowl, and bread crumbs in the third. 
• Rinse salt from the eggplant slices and pat dry with paper towels. Bread eggplant by first placing them in the seasoned flour, then in the eggs, and, finally, in the bread crumbs, coating completely.
• Combine tomato sauce and garlic in a medium bowl. 
• Layer eggplant slices in a baking dish, covering with tomato sauce between each layered stack. Finish the casserole by topping with mozzarella and parmesan. 
• Bake the casserole for 30 minutes. For the last 5 minutes, increase the oven temperature to 450°F (~230°C) to lightly brown the cheesy topping. Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes before serving and sprinkling with fresh basil. 
• For the salad, combine lemon juice, olive oil, salt, black pepper, and pepper flakes in a large bowl and whisk to combine the dressing. Add veggies and toss to combine. 

Vegetarian and Vegan Modifications: For a vegan alternative, substitute vegan cheese for the mozzarella and parmesan topping. You can also forgo the breading, altogether (eliminating the need for eggs) or use a vegan egg substitute (following the packages instructions for breading).

Gluten-Free Modifications: Gluten-free breadcrumbs and gluten-free flour work really well in this recipe in place of the traditional panko and whole wheat flour. 

We hope you like this dish. Please let us know how it turned out by sharing a comment here or on the Community page. And pics of your creations are always welcome too!