Garden Fresh Eggplant Parmesan

Total Time: 1 hr Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 3 small eggplants
• 1 cup flour
• 1 egg
• 1 cup water
• 1 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese
• 1 cup panko breadcrumbs or 1 cup regular cracker crumb
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 7 ounces spaghetti or 7 ounces angel hair pasta
• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• 28 ounces spaghetti sauce
• 1 cup shredded parmesan cheese

Recipe

• 1 i slice my eggplants the night before (into 1/4 inch thick circles) and soak them in salt water. i hear it makes them softer and more tender but i suppose you could go straight to the frying pan with them too.
• 2 mix salt, pepper, garlic powder, and grated cheese into the flour. beat egg into water to make an egg wash. set up a standard 3 stage dipping station for frying the eggplant, hand dip in the seasoned flour, then into the egg wash and finally coat well in the breadcrumbs.
• 3 start the pasta boiling in a separate pot while you start heating oil in a skillet to pan fry the eggplant. add a dash of olive oil or butter to the spaghetti water to keep it from boiling over. the pasta can be just lightly cooked to al-dente stage, as it will finish off in the oven.
• 4 pan fry the eggplant about 5 minutes on each side until nice and golden and drain on a plate.
• 5 drain the spaghetti, and toss in a bowl with some olive oil. also start the oven to preheat at 350 at this time.
• 6 get out a 3 x 9 x 12 inch casserole dish and spread a little marinara sauce to coat the bottom. now add all the pasta in a layer and then layer on the rest of the sauce. add the breaded eggplant slices in a layer on top of the sauce and finally top with fresh shredded parmesan cheese.
• 7 place in the oven to bake for 20 minutes or until the cheese is nice and bubbly on top. let it stand and cool for a couple minutes, serve and enjoy.