Making a dish like Eggplant Parmesan gives me all the feelings. It feels like a therapeutic process. Yet, full disclosure, it is quite a time consuming project. So when you look at this picture, you might be thinking "what is this woman going to do with all of that eggplant parm?". Well, since the process can be a little exhausting and time is limited, I make it in batches and freeze what I am not going to be eating in the next couple of days.
I hate reading a metric ton of content when it comes to the recipes so I am going to get right to the recipe.
Ingredients:
3 large eggplants
salt
flour (your preference, but wheat flour is your healthiest option)
egg
breadcrumbs (season preferred and they also make a gluten free option as well)
milled flax seed (to be used in place of egg if you would like to be egg free)
Directions:
Cut eggplant into circles as shown above. Other shapes will work if you prefer, but this seems to freeze the best for me. Once each piece is cut, sprinkle with salt and let the eggplant sit for 30 minutes or so. What you are looking for is that the eggplant will start to sweat. which will help alleviate the amount of moisture released when it bakes in the oven.
Preheat the oven to 375. If you have it, place parchment paper onto your baking sheets. It helps with sticking of the eggplant to the pan and you loosing your breading.
Grab three bowls for your next step and fill them with the following: Bowl 1 with flour, Bowl 2 with egg (or flax eggs) and Bowl 3 with Breadcrumbs. IF you would like to go egg free, flax eggs is a great way to go. Start with 1 TBS of milled flax seed and add 1/4 cup of water. It will seem watery at the beginning, but if you let it sit for a few moments, the water will start to get absorbed. Be patient and if the mixture becomes to structured, just add more water.
Start to dip. Pick up each eggplant round. First dip it in the flour, both sides so it is evenly covered. Do not wipe off the moisture from the salt because that helps the flour to stick. Then into the egg, followed by breadcrumbs. I like to poke my eggplant with a fork when it is in the flour to help some of the flour get absorbed.
Once it is in the breadcrumbs, press the eggplant lightly so that the breadcrumbs stick to the eggplant. At the step, everything should be sticking quite nicely and you can place it on the pre parchment sheets.
Once all the circles are complete, spray the circles with baking spray (I use the olive oil spray). It will add the crunch and brown the circles. Place in oven for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, turn the circles over, spray this side with baking spray and place back in the oven for another 25 minutes. If you had 2 trays in the oven together, switch them so that the one on the top is now on the bottom and vise versa so that they eggplant cooks evenly in the oven.
Enjoy. To freeze the rest, let all the eggplants rest and cool before you add them to a freezer safe bag so that they do not all stick together.
