Baked Eggplant Parmesan (ish)

For some reason I’ve developed a recent aversion to grocery shopping. Well, all except stalking Whole Foods for the new Larabar flavors and the comeback of G.T. Synergy Kombucha. Good news: I’ve found the new flavors! (Whole Foods Jacksonville now has them local readers!) Bad news: I still need Synergy Kombucha in my life!!! Well, regardless. This sudden aversion to buying groceries has left me getting creative with what I’ve got. We’ve had half an eggplant hanging out on our counter for a couple days, and some leftover tomato sauce in the fridge. In my mind this translates to eggplant parmesan.

To start, I sliced the eggplant into half-inch thick rounds and salted them to draw the bitterness out. (To salt eggplant, simply sprinkle with salt – I use a coarse kosher salt – and let sit for a few minutes, then rinse off and pat dry. It doesn’t make the eggplant salty sinse you rinse it, just not bitter.)

In the past I’ve grilled or baked the eggplant as is, but I was in the mood for a little crunch. For the coating I mixed a quarter-cup whole wheat flour, a quarter cup corn meal, a quarter teaspoon garlic powder and a quarter teaspoon salt. (That may seem like a lot of salt, but it’s just to season your coating, and you won’t use all of your coating on the eggplant.)

 
Pour a quarter cup of milk in your choice (cow’s milk, soymilk, almond milk, etc.) into a bowl.

Prepare your assembly station!

Dip each eggplant slice into the milk so it’s thoroughly coated.

Bring the eggplant to the corn meal mixture and coat each side.

Be sure to pat it in there so it’s not all lose and falls off.

Set them on a rack while you finish prepping the rest of the eggplant.

Spray a baking sheet (I lined mine with aluminum foil for easy clean up) with PAM or an olive oil spray. Place your eggplant on the sheet and the sheet in the oven.

Bake for thirty minutes at 350 degrees. Carefully flip each eggplant circle over and bake for an additional fifteen-twenty minutes (just watch carefully after the fifteen minute mark. You want them crispy but not burnt! Every oven’s different!)

Now, I realize this technically isn’t Eggplant Parmesan, seeing as there’s no Parmesan! Hence the Baked Eggplant Parmesan (ish). If you want, you can top the eggplant with sauce and cheese and pop it under the broiler for a minute or two for the cheese to melt. I don’t do a lot of cheese, so I just stuck to re-heated tomato sauce drizzled over and garnished with some fresh-from-the-garden basil.

This recipe turned out great. Soft, chewy, flavor eggplant contrasting the crunch of the crust and the sweet tang of the tomato sauce. The only thing I’d do different would be to grind some fresh black pepper into the coating or just grind it right on top of the finished product!

Baked Eggplant Parmesan (ish)

2 servings

• half an eggplant (enough for six half-inch thick slices)
• 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup corn meal
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 cup milk of choice
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce
• cheese (optional)
• basil garnish (optional)

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Slice your eggplant into six half-inch thick slices. To draw out the bitterness of the eggplant, salt each side, let sit a few minutes, then rinse off and pat dry.
3. Coat the eggplant in milk and then dredge in the corn meal mixture. Place on a rack until all of the eggplant slices are dredged and ready to go.
4. Bake for thirty minutes at 350 degrees, then flip the eggplant slices over and bake for another fifteen to twenty minutes.
5. Heat your tomato sauce and pour over each eggplant slice.
6. If you desire cheese, sprinkle cheese on top of the eggplant here and place under the broiler for a minute or two (keep your eye on it – you want the cheese to get melty and slightly browned, but not burned. Every broiler is different!)
7. Garnish with fresh basil and enjoy.