Deconstructed Eggplant Parmigiana

Food Styling and Prep by Catrine Kelty
Photography by John W. Hession

Serves 4

So eggplant lovers, here is a new way to have eggplant parmigiana without having to fry anything and without a lot of unnecessary fillings, such as meats, eggs, olives, mushrooms or other things. Small, round, violet-colored eggplant called violetta grow in my garden, but any type of eggplant is fine for this dish. The beauty is that the dish is baked, and delivers great taste and a nice crunch from the almond and breadcrumb mixture. A little unconventional, yes, but that is how “recipes” develop.

3 large eggs
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 cup sliced almonds
2 cups Panko breadcrumbs
2 medium eggplants, ends trimmed and each cut into eight ¼-inch-thick round slices
Extra-virgin olive oil
16 thick slices fresh mozzarella or provolone cheese
2 cups tomato sauce
Basil leaves, for garnish

1. Crack the eggs into a shallow bowl and break them up with a fork; season with salt and pepper to taste.
2. In another bowl, combine the almonds and the breadcrumbs.
3. Coat both sides of each slice of eggplant in the beaten egg, and then press both sides in the almond mixture. Lay the slices on a lightly oiled baking sheet in single layers. Refrigerate uncovered for 30 minutes.
4. Heat the oven to 350ºF. Bake the eggplant for about 12 minutes or until nicely browned on the underside, then carefully turn over and bake the other side. Top each slice with a slice of cheese and allow it to melt. Remove from the oven.
5. Heat the tomato sauce.
6. Place 4 slices of eggplant stacked on top of each other on each of 4 plates; top each one with some of the tomato sauce and serve hot with basil garnish.

Recipe from Ciao Italia: My Lifelong Food Adventures in Italy