Martha Stewart's Baked Eggplant (Aubergine) Parmesan

Submitted by Sana7149

"I make this regularly. I just wanted to have this on hand. NOTE: I use more egg and bread crumbs than suggested"

 

• Ready In: 1hr 30mins
• Ingredients: 12
• Serves: 8

ingredients

• olive oil, for baking sheets
• 2 large eggs
• 3⁄4 cup plain breadcrumbs
• 3⁄4 cup finely grated parmesan cheese, plus
• 2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese, for topping
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1⁄2 teaspoon dried basil
• coarse salt
• pepper
• 2 large eggplants, peeled and sliced into 1/2-inch rounds (2 1/2 pounds total)
• 6 cups store-bought chunky tomato sauce (see recipe below) or 6 cups homemade chunky tomato sauce (see recipe below)
• 1 1⁄2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded

directions

1. Preheat oven to 375°F
2. Brush 2 baking sheets with oil; set aside.
3. In a wide, shallow bowl, whisk together eggs and 2 tablespoons water.
4. In another bowl, combine breadcrumbs, 3/4 cup Parmesan, oregano, and basil; season with salt and pepper.
5. Dip eggplant slices in egg mixture, letting excess drip off, then dredge in breadcrumb mixture, coating well; place on baking sheets.
6. Bake until golden brown on bottom, 20 to 25 minutes.
7. Turn slices; continue baking until browned on other side, 20 to 25 minutes more.
8. Remove from oven; raise oven heat to 400°F.
9. Spread 2 cups sauce in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
10. Arrange half the eggplant in dish; cover with 2 cups sauce, then 1/2 cup mozzarella.
11. Repeat with remaining eggplant, sauce, and mozzarella; sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons Parmesan.
12. Bake until sauce is bubbling and cheese is melted, 15 to 20 minutes.
13. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.
14. Note: To make Chunky Tomato Sauce: In a medium saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat.
15. Cook 1 small diced onion and 2 minced garlic cloves, stirring frequently, until translucent, 2 to 4 minutes.
16. Crush 2 cans whole tomatoes (28 ounces each) into pan; add 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano.
17. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 15 minutes.
18. Season with salt and pepper.

Reviews

[lolablitz]

Okay, but a very Americanized dish. Made it for my DD's birthday and she ate it and seemed to enjoy it, but my DH and I thought it was boring (a lot of work for boring too in that I made my own sauce and followed the directions to a T), and nothing like the eggplant parm my Italian neighbor makes. We weren't expecting total authenticity - especially with the eggplant being baked - but this was as my DH put it "very safe." I've had this trouble with M. Stewart's recipes before, so I think I'll avoid her in the future.

 

[lori8866]

I have been making a variation of this recipe for years, using zucchini instead of eggplant. I line the baking sheets with parchment paper, and spray with EVOO spray putting in the oven. Also add crumbled meatballs and/or Italian sausage to the sauce. SO much easier than frying everything, and isn't saturated with the taste of the cooking oil. Makes cleanup easy too!

 

[Judith G.]

Have been making eggplant parmesan to great raves for fifty years. Two differences :salt the eggplant once sliced and let stand for thirty minutes. Always use homemade sauce (ie gravy) use seasoned Italian bread crumbs. Question has anyone frozen theirs before baking?

 

[Owned by a Westie]

I have to admit, I'm not usually a Martha Stewart fan, but this had great reviews so I gave it a shot. This is probably the best eggplant parmesan recipe I've tried yet! My husband and 21 year-old son are not picky at all, but eggplant is usually not the first thing they order from the menu - it is for me! So I was thrilled when they both raved about this dish! We all love that the eggplant is not fried but still has that classic taste. I made the sauce as directed in the recipe, but it was just a little shy of what was needed to complete the dish so I just stirred in a 10 oz. jar of classic pizza sauce. I also used an extra egg and breadcrumbs as per other reviewers advice. (I think I had a little over 2.5 lbs. of eggplant, so this could have made the difference.) Tasted great and leftovers (which were few!) were even better the next day! This is definitely my new, favorite recipe for eggplant!

 

[javajem]

This was a great recipe! I only used 1 eggplant but it was a big one. I made the sauce from the directions provided but also added a jar of Classico. Baking the eggplant was a terrific option - I tasted the eggplant after baking it and it was so delicious! I would have loved eating it even without the sauce the cheese!