Extravagantly Excellent Eggplant Parmesan

• Vegetarian

• Produce

  • 2 handfuls Basil, fresh leaves
  • 2 Eggplants, medium
  • 8 Garlic cloves
  • 1 tbsp Oregano, dried
  • 3 (28 oz cans San marzano plum tomatoes
  • 1 tbsp Thyme, fresh leaves
  • 3 Yellow onions, medium slices thin

• Refrigerated

  • 5 Eggs, large

• Baking & Spices

  • 1 Black pepper, freshly ground
  • 1/2 cup Flour
  • 1/2 tsp Red pepper flakes
  • 1 Salt
  • 1 tbsp Sugar

• Oils & Vinegars

  • 1/4 cup Olive oil, Extra Virgin
  • 1 Vegetable oil

• Bread & Baked Goods

  • 4 cup Italian-style breadcrumbs

• Dairy

  • 3 tbsp Milk
  • 1 1/2 lb Mozzarella cheese, grated
  • 1/2 cup Parmigiano-reggiano, grated
  • 1 lb Provolone

Found on thatsusanwilliams.com

Description

Ingredients

• 1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil
• 3 medium yellow onions, peeled, halved, and cut into thin slices
• 8 garlic cloves, minced
• salt
• 1/2 to 1 t. red pepper flakes, or to taste
• 1 T. sugar
• 3 (28 oz) cans of San Marzano peeled plum tomatoes
• 2 medium eggplants, cut into 1/2 slices (approximately 2 1/2 lbs. of eggplant), salted, drained, rinsed and dried (see directions above)
• 1/2 c. flour
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 5 large eggs, beaten
• 3 T. milk
• 4 c. Italian style breadcrumbs (see recipe above)
• 1 T. dried oregano
• 1 T. chopped fresh thyme leaves
• Vegetable oil, as needed for frying; oil needs to be about a half inch deep
• 1 1/2 lb.mozzarella cheese, grated
• 1/2 c. grated Parmigiano Reggiano
• 1 lb. Provolone, sliced
• 2 handfuls fresh basil leaves, torn

Directions

• In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and season with salt and red pepper flakes. Cook until the onions become translucent, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the sugar and the canned tomatoes. Use a wooden spoon to break up some of the whole tomatoes and cook 10 to 15 minutes over medium heat, stirring from time to time. Taste for seasoning. The tomatoes should be fairly broken down and the flavors should be starting to come together. Cook for another few minutes if the tomatoes still taste like they need a little more time to break down. Set aside to cool.
• Put the flour in a medium bowl and season with salt and pepper. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk, and season with salt and pepper. In a third bowl, combine the breadcrumbs with the oregano and fresh thyme leaves, and season with salt and pepper. Dip each eggplant slice in the flour and shake off any excess. Then dip in the egg mixture, and finally in the breadcrumbs. Make sure to coat both side of each slice of eggplant. Arrange them in single layers on baking sheets.
• flour + eggs + breadcrumbs + frying skillet + baking sheet with drain rack (When breading, to minimize gunk coating the fingers of both hands, I use my left hand for coating with flour, and my right hand for coating in eggs and crumbs. It helps a little.) In a large skillet, heat 1/2 of oil, until it begins to smoke lightly . Use a pair of kitchen tongs to add a single layer of the eggplant to the pan. Cook them until they are golden brown, about 2 minutes on each side. Remove from the oil and transfer to a rack on a baking sheet so they can drain as the others cook. Season lightly with salt. Take care to reheat the oil back up to temperature before adding the next batch of eggplant. If you are checking the oils heat by temperature, you want it between 380º and 400º. Preheat the oven to 350º.
• In a 9x13 baking dish, spoon about 1/4 of the sauce on the bottom of the dish. Top with a layer of the fried eggplant. Top with about 1/3 of the mozzarella. Sprinkle with about 1/4 of the Parmigiano Reggiano and Provolone cheeses. Top with a layer of torn basil leaves. Spoon sauce and repeat the layering two more times, to make 3 layers. End with the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan. Carefully press the layers down firmly into the dish once assembled. Place the dish in the top part of the oven and cook until the cheese is melted and bubbly, 35 to 40 minutes.