Easy Eggplant Parmesan with Roasted Eggplant
Description
After 25 minutes in the oven, the gratin emerged bubbling and golden and tasted utterly delicious.
Ingreadient :
- 3 medium eggplants or 6 small eggplants, about 3 1/2 to 4 lbs. cut crosswise into 1/2-inch slices
- olive oil
- kosher salt
- freshly cracked black pepper
- 2 cups fresh breadcrumbs
- 1 cup (3 ounces roughly) freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
- red pepper tomato sauce (recipe below, or whatever tomato sauce you love)
- 2 red bell peppers, stemmed and seeded, diced to yield about 2 cups
- 2 beefsteak tomatoes, diced to yield about 2 cups
- kosher salt and pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves
- 4 tablespoons butter, room temperature
For the eggplant parmesan:
For the tomato-basil sauce:
Direction :
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line two baking sheets — I love these extra-large baking sheets for this — with parchment (if you wish) then drizzle some oil over top and spread out with your hand. Lay the eggplant slices in a single layer. Season generously with salt and pepper. Flip the slices, season with salt and pepper. Drizzle more olive oil over top. Bake until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove pan from oven, flip slices, bake for 15 more minutes. Set aside. Reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees.
- Meanwhile, toss the 2 cups bread crumbs with 1/3 cup of the grated parmesan cheese, 1/4 cup olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
- Into a 9×13-inch baking dish, spoon a small amount of sauce, then a single layer of eggplant, then a thin layer of parmesan. Repeat the layering until all of the eggplant and cheese has been used, ending with a little sauce. Top with the bread crumb mixture.
- Bake until eggplant mixture is bubbly and top is golden, 25 minutes or so depending on size of pan and thickness of layers. Remove from heat and allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving. Recipe can also be reheated.
