Baked Eggplant Parm

I barely finished photographing this weeks eggplant parm before I started to dig in. It just smelled so incredible, and cooking/blogging/photographing while hungry is certainly hard to do. This eggplant parm is baked, with a soft center and a crispy top - its the best of both worlds. If you've seen Frank's Chicken Parm recipe - you know that soggy parm is a big no-no in our house. And while it does take an hour in the oven, you could do the first half of the baking at an earlier time if you cant wait at dinner, but I promise you its worth it. The hardest part about this recipe, is waiting.

Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees. At that time, slice your eggplant into 1/2 inch slices. In two small shallow dishes, place one egg and splash of (almond) milk, and in the other, breadcrumbs and all the seasonings. One by one, dip and dredge each slice. If you want the coating to be a little thicker, dredge in flour, then egg, then in the breadcrumbs. Lay on a baking sheet (even easier if you have one of these) and bake for a total of 30 minutes, flipping tray halfway through. Then in a 9x13" baking pan, pour a jar of your favorite marinara sauce on the bottom. Then place the pieces of eggplant on top of it. Sprinkle with parmesean and place back in the oven for another 30 minutes. Its ready when you can easily poke with a knife and the top has been browned. Serve on its own, or with a side. A little chopped basil on top is just perfect.

Baked Eggplant Parm

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

• 1 medium/large eggplant

• 1 egg

• 1/3 cup almond milk

• 1 cup breadcrumbs

• 1 teaspoon dried oregano

• 1 teaspoon dried basil

• 2 teaspoons dried minced onion

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1/3-1/2 cup parmesean

• Salt and pepper to taste

• 1 jar your favorite marinara sauce

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Slice eggplant into 1/2 inch rounds.

2. In a small shallow whisk egg and almond milk. In another place place all the remaining ingredients except the parmesean and mix.

3. Dredge eggplant first in the egg wash, then the breadcrumb mixture. Place on a baking sheet. Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes, flipping around halfway through.

4. Remove from oven. Pour jar of favorite marinara sauce in a 9x13" pan. Place slices of eggplant on top. Sprinkle parmesean over the whole thing. Place back in oven for another 30 minutes.

5. Remove from oven when eggplant can easily be pricked with a knife and the top is browned.

6. Serve as a side or on its own with a little chopped basil on top.

xx

Rita