Ready in about an hour, it’s wonderful as a side dish, but it’s also substantial enough to serve as a meatless main course. If you like eggplant, I think you’ll consider this recipe a delicacy. Tender, flavorful eggplant slices are coated in a crunchy coating, smothered in marinara sauce and cheese, and baked until the cheese is melted. What’s not to like? My mother-in-law used to make eggplants in tomato sauce. She would coat the eggplant slices in batter, fry them, and simmer them in tomato sauce. It was an exquisite dish, but it required a lot of work, especially the frying part. That’s why I prefer to bake the eggplant slices instead of frying them.
Ingredients
Recipe Card
Cooking spray: I use avocado oil. This oil has a neutral flavor and a high smoke point, making it an ideal cooking oil. Eggplant: You can leave it unpeeled. It looks prettier this way. To season: Salt, pepper, and garlic powder. For the coating: An egg and almond meal. To top the dish: Marinara sauce, shredded mozzarella, and grated parmesan. Chopped parsley: Used mostly for garnish, so you can skip it if you don’t have any on hand. It does make the dish look prettier, though.
You can also use shredded provolone cheese instead of shredded mozzarella. You start by seasoning eggplant slices with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Next, dip them in a beaten egg and dredge them in almond meal. Top with marinara sauce and cheese, and bake a few more minutes to heat through and melt the cheese. Garnish with parsley and serve. One trick is to salt the eggplant rounds before frying them, as I do in this roasted eggplant recipe. This removes moisture and allows for crispier eggplants while using less oil. Another step in this complex recipe! But I am a lazy cook. There’s no way I will fry eggplants, so I bake them instead. High-heat baking achieves similar results to salting and frying, with much less effort.
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But this dish can easily serve as a substantial and filling main course. In this case, you can serve it with a simple salad like this arugula salad or perhaps with some steamed broccoli.
