EGGPLANT PARMESAN WITH FRESH BASIL AND SMOKED MOZZARELLA

Eggplant Parmesan with Fresh Basil and Smoked Mozzarella image

The heavenly, salty, slightly sweet combination of rich tomato-y marinara, crispy creamy fried eggplant, and smoked mozzarella. I'd call this dish transcendent.

Provided by lindseytr0n

Categories World Cuisine Recipes European Italian

Time 1h20m

Yield 5

Number Of Ingredients 10

Ingredients

1 large unpeeled purple eggplant, trimmed and cut into 1/8-inch thick slices
1 teaspoon fine sea salt, or as needed
2 eggs
1 tablespoon whole milk
1 cup Italian-seasoned bread crumbs, or more as needed
¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil, or as needed
1 (24 ounce) jar prepared marinara sauce (such as De Cecco®)
1 bunch fresh basil, coarsely chopped
1 (8 ounce) package smoked mozzarella cheese, very thinly sliced
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Steps:

Line a plate with a paper towel; place a layer of 2 or 3 slices of eggplant onto the towel. Sprinkle eggplant with sea salt. Repeat layers of eggplant sprinkled with salt until all eggplant slices are stacked. Place 2 paper towels onto the stack and place a plate on top of the towels. Lay a heavy book or can of food onto the plate to squeeze out moisture. Allow to drip for 20 minutes to 2 hours. Rinse and pat dry.
Beat eggs with milk in a shallow bowl. Place bread crumbs into a separate bowl. Dip eggplant slices in the egg mixture and gently press into the crumbs to coat; set aside.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease an 8x8-inch baking dish.
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat; fry eggplant slices in the hot oil in small batches until golden brown, about 1 to 2 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels.
Pour about 1/4 cup of marinara sauce into the bottom of the prepared baking dish and arrange a layer of eggplant slices to cover the sauce. Scatter basil and a few slices of smoked mozzarella cheese over eggplant; repeat layers, ending with a layer of sauce on top. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over the top.
Bake in the preheated oven until heated through and the cheese has melted, about 15 minutes. Serve immediately.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 459.6 calories, Carbohydrate 44.7 g, Cholesterol 106.8 mg, Fat 22.2 g, Fiber 9.2 g, Protein 21 g, SaturatedFat 9 g, Sodium 1582.1 mg, Sugar 16.1 g