Eggplant Parmigiana

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Michael wanted me to post this recipe. It's very similar to my lasagna, I just substitute eggplant for the lasagna noodles. I never made this dish with homegrown eggplant before, it was delish!

For this dish, you will need about 3 small eggplants. Make sure you select eggplants that are small, then the seeds inside will also be small. I'm not a fan of big eggplant seeds so I made sure that we picked the eggplant when it was small. Slice the eggplants lengthwise, about 1/4" thick. Place the slices on a clean kitchen towel (or a double thickness of paper towels) and sprinkle both sides with salt. Let the slices sit for about 1/2 hour, then blot the excess liquid from the slices. This step is necessary to remove a lot of the moisture from the eggplant, as well as some of the bitterness. While the eggplant is doing its thing, take out two shallow bowls. In one, place about 1 cup of flour, seasoned with salt & pepper. In the other, add two eggs, beaten. Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat, then add about 2 T olive oil and 2 T vegetable oil. Set up the bowls like an assembly line: first the flour, then the egg, then the skillet. Dip the dried eggplant first into the flour; shake of any excess. Then dip into the egg, making sure it is coated well. Now place into the skillet, a few pieces at a time. Don't crowd them in the skillet; they need room to breathe. Fry until golden on each side, then remove to a plate lined with paper towels. Set aside.

Now that the eggplant is all fried up, it's time to assemble everything. Here's what you'll need:

1 8-oz container of part skim ricotta cheese
1 egg
1/4 cup grated romano or parmesan cheese, or a combination of both
3 cups marinara sauce (preferably homemade but if not, then at least a good quality brand)
2 tablespoons pesto
2 cups grated mozzarella cheese

Mix the egg with the ricotta cheese in a mixing bowl, and add about 2 tablespoons of the grated romano cheese. Mix in about 2 tablespoons of water so the mixture is just a bit soupy. Heat the marinara sauce in a skillet, add the pesto and let the sauce simmer for about 10 minutes. In a large casserole dish, place some of the sauce (2 or 3 ladels-full) in the bottom of the dish. Now make a layer of eggplant. On top of the eggplant layer, spoon out about 1/2 of the ricotta cheese mixture and spread it around, then top with about 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese and a couple tablespoons of romano cheese, then top with marinara sauce. Start again with the eggplant, then ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese and sauce. Top with more eggplant, then sauce and finally mozzarella cheese and romano cheese. Place in a 375-degree oven for about 45 minutes. If the cheese is getting too brown, cover with foil for the last 15 minutes or so.

Serve with extra sauce, a salad and plenty of hot Italian bread. Mangia!