Eggplant Parmesan from Your Garden

We're starting to get quite a crop of tomatoes and peppers. And we've had eggplants, which I made into eggplant parmesan. It's a fairly easy dish and it is sooooo tasty. We ended up eating it for two nights. The key to good eggplant, I've discovered thanks to the internet, is draining out the excess fluid. Here's the deal. You slice up your eggplant into about 1/4 inch slices, then layer in a large colander, sprinkling each layer with kosher salt. Cover with a plate and let sit two hours (put the colander on top of a plate or dish to catch the liquid). Then rinse and pat dry. I used three normal sized eggplants (not huge ones you might buy in a store).

Next you dredge them in a mixture of equal parts flour and bread crumbs, then dredge in beaten eggs, then fry in a pan with about 1/2 inch hot olive oil. Fry until golden brown, turning once, then drain on paper towels.

Take a shallow pan (9x13 for a large amount, though I used a smaller one) and start with a layer of sauce (homemade is great but store-bought is respectable, just something tasty).

Next a layer of eggplant.

Then shredded mozzarella and parmesan cheeses. Do yourself a favor and get a block of real parmesan cheese and then grate it. Don't get the hard, pre-grated stuff. Ick. Then on top of the cheeses a layer of fresh basil from the garden.

Repeat the layers again but omit the basil (one layer is really enough) and end with cheese. Bake 30 minutes at 350 or until the cheese is browning and bubbling. Remove from oven and let sit 5 or 10 minutes before serving. Serve over spaghetti and more sauce and garnish with basil.

I'm telling you, I've made this but once and yet I know it will become a staple in our house. My husband mentions it daily. We have five more eggplants currently growing on our plants and more flowers blooming, so I hope to have this meal several more times before the first frost.

Don't have a garden? All of this wonderful stuff can be found at the store, albeit in a more expensive and chemically enhanced form. If you aren't growing eggplant, you should be!