Eggplant Parmesan

It has been a long time since I posted a recipe (sorry!) and this one is actually from back in September but I finally got around to uploading pictures so here it is:

We bought eggplant at the farmer's market so we turned to one of our favorite new cookbooks: Minnesota Farmers Market Cookbook and found a recipe for Eggplant Parmesan. It was fantastic - tasted like lasagna but much healthier.

Eggplant Parmesan

Ingredients:

• 2 large eggplants
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 cup flour
• 2 eggs (beaten)
• 1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs (whole wheat, panko, whatever your preference is)
• 2 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1 tsp garlic salt
• 3 cups of marinara sauce
• 3 cups of mixed Italian cheeses (mozzarella, parmesan)

Directions:

1. Slice the eggplants into 1/2" rounds.
2. Salt the eggplant and let it sit for 20 - 30 minutes. This is supposed to help reduce the bitterness that is especially common in larger eggplant. 
3. Rinse the eggplant then pat dry with paper towel. 
4. Place flour in a plastic bag with half of the eggplant slices, seal the bag and toss until all eggplant are coated evenly. Remove eggplant and repeat with remaining slices of eggplant. 
5. Preheat the oven's broiler. 
6. In a small bowl, beat the eggs. 
7. In another small-medium size bowl, mix the breadcrumbs, seasoning, and salt. 
8. Dip each eggplant slice in the beaten eggs and then in the breadcrumb mix fully coating each side. 
9. Place the covered eggplant slices in a large baking sheet (greased).
10. Broil for 5 minutes until golden brown, then flip and broil the other side for 2 - 3 minutes until golden brown. Remove the eggplant from the baking sheet.
11. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 
12. Spray a 9"x13" baking dish with olive oil then spread a cup of marinara sauce along the bottom.
13. Arrange about half of the eggplant in the baking dish, spread a cup of sauce over the eggplant and sprinkle half of the cheese over the top. 
14. Place the other half of the eggplant slices on top and spread the remaining marinara sauce and sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. 
15. Bake for 30 - 40 minutes until bubbly around the edges and until the cheese is slightly browned. 
16. Let cool for about 5 minutes and serve.