Baked Eggplant Parmesan and a Bottle of Red

Eggplant is very much in season right now, so I went looking for an eggplant parmesan cooking method that wouldn't be too heavy, so I could enjoy the flavor of the fresh vegetables underneath the breading.  Garrad is not wild about eggplant, so I knew I had to make something as close to the real thing as possible for him to enjoy it.  For any Italian cooking venture, I start out with a big glass of wine.  I wanted to try out a new (to me) shiraz and the fellas at Kat's Wine Cellar recommended this one:

I will never pretend to be able to review wines in this blog, but The Stump Jump Shiraz is fruity and delicious without being too sweet and I drank it until it was gone.  I also thought it was a great value at $13.

The first steps you take with any eggplant dish are peeling it, slicing it, salting it, and then let it sit in a colander or on a cooling rack to pull moisture out of it.  After it sits for 30 minutes, rinse it and pat it dry with a towel.  This step takes away the bitter flavor eggplant can sometimes have.  

Baked Eggplant Parmesan
2 small or 1 medium sized eggplant (about 12 half inch slices worth)
1 egg + 2 tbsp water
1/3 cup bread crumbs
1/3 cup grated parmesan
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp dry herbs of choice (I use a mixture of basil & oregano)
salt and pepper
1 cup marinara sauce
Mozzarella or other cheese for topping
Fresh basil for garnish

After your eggplant is prepped and salted, set up a breading station, like so:

The eggplant is ready to go, the egg and water a whisked together and the bread crumbs, parmesan, garlic, dry herbs, and salt and pepper are combined in a shallow bowl.  Once the rounds are breaded, they go on a sheet pan covered in aluminum foil that has been liberally sprayed with vegetable oil (also spray the top side of the rounds before baking).  I baked these at 425 degrees for 10 minutes on each side (or until golden brown).  Then, I pushed the pieces of eggplant together on the sheet tray (so they touch but don't overlap), covered them with marinara sauce and topped them with cheese (we used goat cheese because that's what we had in the fridge).  I reduced the oven heat to 350 and put the eggplant back in for another 10 minutes.  This step melts the cheese and also ensures the eggplant is completely cooked through.  While the eggplant was finishing, I boiled some capellini pasta and topped it with my extra marina sauce.

This method of cooking eggplant parm was great for fresh summer eggplant.  The end result was light and flavorful, and also saved really well because it hadn't been saturated in oil.  With a long and hot summer ahead, I will probably be making this dish again very soon.