Eggplant Parmesan

Ingredients:

• 1 large eggplant

• 4-5 tbsp olive oil

• 1/2 cup of canola oil

• 1 jar of marinara sauce (Jarred or homemade sauce works. I like Rao’s or The Meatball Shop’s sauce)

• 2 eggs; whisked

• 1 1/2 cup of Panko breadcrumbs

• 1 tsp of dried oregano

• 1/2 tsp of garlic powder

• 1/2 tsp of salt

• 1/2 tsp of pepper

• 2- 2 1/2 cups of mozzarella cheese (shredded) or you can use a mozzarella log and just use as many slices as you have slices of eggplant

• 1/2 cup of shredded Parmesan cheese

Preheat your oven to 350 and line a baking sheet with tin foil.

Slide your eggplant into 1 inch thick slices and place on the baking sheet. Drizzle the eggplant slices with olive oil on both sides and bake for about 20 minutes or until softened. You want to be able to stick a fork through it but you don’t want the eggplant to fall apart- it should still be able to hold its shape. Once you pull out the eggplant, crank the heat up on the oven to 400F.

In a shallow bowl, mix your breadcrumbs, oregano, garlic powder, salt and pepper.

In a large skillet, heat up your canola oil. You want to keep it on a medium heat so nothing burns.

Moving in an assembly line, dip your eggplant slices into the egg mixture and then into the breadcrumbs. Press the breadcrumbs in with your hands to make sure it is stuck to the egg.

Place the eggplant in the oil and fry on both sides for about 4-5 minutes (each side) or until golden brown.

While your eggplant is frying, prepare a large Pyrex dish by covering the bottom of the dish with a thin layer of tomato sauce.

Place the fried eggplant slices directly on the tomato sauce. Once all the eggplant is fried, place a generous dollop of tomato sauce on top of each slice. Cover the dollop of sauce with mozzarella cheese and a sprinkle of Parmesan.

Bake for about 15- 20 minutes or until the cheese is melted and crispy. If you want extra crispy cheese, crank the broiler on for the last five minutes.

Serve with a side of pasta, tossed in your extra tomato sauce.