Cooking With Carassauga: In our second episode, we bring you a dish inspired by Italy with a demonstration of how to make Eggplant Parmesan. Here is the recipe below for you to try and let us know how your Italian-inspired Eggplant Parmesan turned out.
Ingredients
2 – 3 eggplants
2 cups of shredded Mozzarella
For the sauce
750 mL Tomato Puree
750 mL Diced Tomatoes
6 cloves of Garlic
1 onion
2 – 3 tbsp of olive oil
¼ cup of red wine
Handful of Fresh Basil
Salt and Pepper to taste
For the Dredging
4 – 5 eggs
1 ½ cups of flour
2 cups of breadcrumbs
Prep Time: 1 hour
Cooking Time: 1 hour
Servings: 6 – 8 people
Supplies need for cooking
Deep Pot for sauce
Frying pan
3 plates for dredge station
Glass baking dish 3qt
Knife for slicing
Wooden spoon
Tongs
Ladle
Parchment Paper
Baking Sheet
Paper Towels
Cooking Instructions
1. Trim the ends of the eggplant and cut into ¼ inch slices.
2. Lay the eggplant onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, sprinkle with sea salt and let stand for 30 minutes.
3. While the eggplant is resting, start on the sauce.
4. Thinly slice the garlic and chop the onion.
5. Heat 2 – 3 tbsp of olive oil in a pot on medium heat.
6. Add onions and garlic to the pot, seat them down for 2 – 2.5 mins.
7. Add crushed tomatoes, raising the temperature to med. – high heat.
8. Add tomato puree and raise heat to high.
9. Once it starts to boil, add the red wine, basil, salt, and pepper.
10. Bring to a full boil, then drop the heat to low and simmer for 20 – 25 minutes.
11. While the sauce is cooking, prep the dredge station – flour, eggs (beaten), and breadcrumbs in separate plates.
12. Pat dry the eggplant with a paper towel before putting them into the dredge.
13. Dip the eggplant into the flour, then the eggs, then the breadcrumbs. (Put them aside for frying)
14. Check on the sauce, after 25 – 30 mins of simmering it is complete. Turn off the heat.
15. In a frying pan on med-high heat, warm the vegetable oil for frying.
16. Fry the eggplant for about 30 secs on each side, a light browning colour. Remove from the oil and place on paper towels.
17. Time to build – start with adding some sauce to the bottom of a glass baking dish.
18. Then lay the eggplant slices (about 6 to cover the dish), add sauce and cover with cheese.
19. Repeat the last step to build the layers.
20. On the last layer cover with the remaining cheese and you can add sliced mozzarella for design.
21. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 mins.
22. Let it cool for 30 mins before serving.
23. Cut and Enjoy.