Eggplant Parmesan
TIME/SERVINGS
Total: 1 hour
Active: 55 mins
Makes: 4 to 6 servings
By Kate Ramos
The southern Italian region of Campania is known for its exceptional buffalo milk mozzarella and the many recipes it inspires, such as Parmigiana alla melanzane. Second-rate versions of this dish feature limp pieces of eggplant masked by underwhelming tomato sauce. In our version, we bread the eggplant in panko for extra crunch. Then it’s arranged over a bed of Basic Tomato Sauce and layered with fresh basil leaves and mozzarella, making for a big crowd pleaser.
What to buy: Panko is coarse Japanese-style breadcrumbs, available in many grocery stores.
We used Japanese eggplant in this recipe for its thin skin and sweet, delicate flavor. If these or any other smaller eggplant aren’t available, globe eggplant will work; just be sure to adjust the baking dish to accommodate the larger size.
Game plan: Because of the variance in eggplant size, you may have to adjust the number of slices to fill the dish. The key is to have the same number of eggplant slices as mozzarella slices and leaves of basil. When choosing your eggplant, shoot for about a pound. That should be plenty for four people.
- 24 (1/2-inch-thick) slices Japanese eggplant (from about 2 medium eggplant)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1 1/2 cups panko
- 1/2 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
- Olive oil for frying
- 1 1/2 cups warm Basic Tomato Sauce, plus more for serving
- 24 medium whole basil leaves
- 24 (1/4-inch-thick) slices fresh mozzarella (about 8 ounces total)
- Position rack in middle of the oven and heat broiler to low. Place eggplant slices in a colander set in the sink or over a bowl, sprinkle generously with kosher salt, toss to combine, and set aside to drain while you prepare the other ingredients.
- Place flour in a wide, shallow dish and season generously with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Combine eggs and milk in another shallow dish and set aside; mix panko and cheese together in a third shallow dish.
- Remove eggplant slices from colander and pat dry with paper towels. Bread eggplant by coating a few slices in flour mixture. Shake off excess flour, dip into egg mixture, and press into panko mixture; be sure to coat the slices thoroughly at each step. Set breaded eggplant on a baking sheet and repeat with remaining eggplant.
- Line another baking sheet with paper towels and set aside. Fill a large, straight-sided skillet or frying pan with 1 inch oil. Warm over medium-high heat until oil reaches 350°F on a deep-fat thermometer (oil will be shimmering but not smoking). Add about 1/3 of eggplant slices and fry on one side until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Carefully flip over and fry other side for another 2 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove to paper towel–lined baking sheet and repeat with remaining eggplant.
- Pour warmed tomato sauce over the bottom of an 8-by-8-inch baking dish. Shingle one eggplant slice, one basil leaf, and one mozzarella slice over the tomato sauce, repeating until all ingredients are arranged in the baking dish.
- Place dish in the oven and broil until cheese is melted, bubbly, and speckled with gold, about 5 to 7 minutes. Serve immediately with extra tomato sauce on the side.
Beverage pairing: Feudi di San Gregorio Greco di Tufo, Italy. Greco di Tufo is a grape found in southern Italy, and it produces wines that remarkably seem to be both rich and lean. In this case the roundness and medium-body of the wine will seem proportionate with the eggplant and cheese, while its acidity and minerality will be a refreshing contrast too.
COMMENTS | ADD YOUR OWN
There is nothing even remotely Italian about this dish- the history, ingredients, method, and presentation are all wrong.
vvvindaloo: while our presentation of this dish is not the most traditional (it is often served with the eggplant overlapping in a spiral) and we add in Panko to give the eggplant extra crunch, everything else is respecting traditional _melanzane alla parmigiana_. -aida
Aida- Thank you for responding. I meant no offense in my response, and I apologize if my comment was harsh. I should have explained why I wrote what I did- As a traditional Italian home cook, I honestly do not see much resemblance in this dish to what Italians in Italy or Italian-Americans here do at all. Here is what I would consider a culturally and historically accurate way to feature this classic dish: Melanzane alla Parmigiana is a dish of Sicilian origin, by way of the Arabs. The name, Parmigiana, actually has nothing to do with the cheese, Parmigiano- it is actually a word that evolved from Sicilian dialect. The eggplant used should be either the Tunisian/Sicilian variety or a small version of our traditional purple one, and always sliced longways. This is a layered dish, with tomato sauce (no onion in the sauce) and mozzarella (not buffalo). Traditionally, there is no Parmigiano-Reggiano in this peasant dish, as it is thoroughly Southern Italian, and parmigiano-reggiano would have been available only to the very rich citizens of the South, even as recently as 50 or 60 years ago. Sicilians would be more likely to use cheeses such as Asiago or Caciocavallo as their second cheese for this dish. The eggplant is sliced and fried in oil, but not breaded (though it is almost always breaded here in the U.S.), and layered flat in the dish. I have never heard of dredging in flour. Most often, Melanzane alla Parmigiana is eaten cold or at room temperature (a fact I learned when I visited Sicily for the first time at age 29). I am sure that your recipe tastes delicious. I just thought I would contribute what I have learned to be the history and method for making this dish.
Marcella Hazan would have a cow to hear eggplant parmesan being made with (gasp) Japanese eggplants. All wrong!
you had me at the visual. this was incredibly good, traditional or not. changes: added 1T dried oregano to the panko mix and spooned extra sauce in between rows. thank you for this recipe.
I'd also prefer Sicilian eggplant, which is also delicate in flavour, but with the appropriate flavour to this dish.