This recipe won out over the other Eggplant Parmesan recipes for me because of the addition of ricotta which I love and makes it like a delicious pasta-less lasagna. I made double the amount and had too much sauce (Best Marinara Sauce Yet here at AllRecipes) which made it a little sloppy when serving but nonetheless yummy. Everyone was happy that there was plenty of sauce to mop up with crusty bread! And hubby has asked that I make it again at the earliest available opportunity. Degorging (ie salting) is done only to take away bitterness (not make eggplant tender as some reviewers believe) and it is not necessary when you have wonderful tight-skinned fresh young eggplants. Degorging actually might contribute to the greasiness of the dish. (Drawing moisture from eggplants with salt makes the temperature of the oil drop too much when adding them to the pan hence they absorb more oil.) I didn't degorge my eggplants and used a non-stick pan with a smear of extra-virgin olive oil. Very little fat and no bitterness.
This recipe won out over the other Eggplant Parmesan recipes for me because of the addition of ricotta which I love and makes it like a delicious pasta-less lasagna. I made double the amount and had too much sauce (Best Marinara Sauce Yet here at AllRecipes) which made it a little sloppy when serving but nonetheless yummy. Everyone was happy that there was plenty of sauce to mop up with crusty bread! And hubby has asked that I make it again at the earliest available opportunity. Degorging (ie salting) is done only to take away bitterness (not make eggplant tender as some reviewers believe) and it is not necessary when you have wonderful tight-skinned fresh young eggplants. Degorging actually might contribute to the greasiness of the dish. (Drawing moisture from eggplants with salt makes the temperature of the oil drop too much when adding them to the pan hence they absorb more oil.) I didn't degorge my eggplants and used a non-stick pan with a smear of extra-virgin olive oil. Very little fat and no bitterness.
My family loved this recipe. Her's how I made it: peeled the eggplant sliced it and salted it with sea salt. Let it sit in the colander for 4-6 hours to sweat it out good. Rinsed the eggplant in water and dried on paper towels. Dipped slices in egg then italian bread crumbs then browned in skillet for about 2 minutes each side. I used Classico Tomato Basil sauce therefore I didn't add as much basil like the recipe calls for. For cheese I used a sm. tub of ricotta (15 oz) and a 8 oz bag mozzerella and a sm. bag parmesean. My husband loved all of the cheese and told me this one is a keeper.
I became very interested in this dish when I was searching for eggplant recipes. However, I quickly became frustrated when I began to fry the eggplant in olive oil. You see, eggplant mysteriously soaks up olive oil requiring me to add more and more and more and...you get the picture. The recipe should have called for a batter of some type to prevent the oil soaked soggy patties I ended up with.
I cheated. I fried the eggplant after dipping it in milk and breadcrumbs. I coated the eggplant in a large plastic bag as one reviewer suggested and that sure kept things from getting messy! What makes this a five-star for me was the addition of the ricotta cheese mixture. I spread all of that in a middle layer: Sauce eggplant mozzarella parmesan repeat then the ricotta mixture sauce eggplant mozzarella parmesan repeat. Excellent! Thanks for having my guests declare that my eggplant parmesan was the best they had ever tasted (and I thought I had already conquered this dish)!
This was wonderful and was a big hit. I made a few changes based on other reviewers suggestions. I sliced the eggplant about 1/4 inch thick and allowed it to sweat for about 2 hours. I also cut way down on the oil for frying the eggplant - just a smidge in a non-stick pan. I used my own homemade sauce. Although not difficult per se there are quite a few steps to this recipe and I wanted it to be worth the time so I made several smallish tins of it and froze them. They defrost great and are a wonderful and quick work-night treat! Thanks for sending this in - it will certainly become one of my regular dishes!
Excellent recipe I breaded the eggplant slices and used cooking spray to brown them. Next time I ll try without the breading. The only other change I made was to leave out the egg from the ricotta mixture since one person was allergic to eggs. When assembling instead of trying to smooth out the ricotta mixture I just put a dollop on each eggplant round then put another eggplant round right on top of that then added another ricotta dollop. Instead of having an even casserole I had 12 individual eggplant mounds that were easy and attractive to plate.
The best eggplant parmesan I've ever had. Next time I think I will double the ricotta mix. That will help use up the whole tub and will fill the cheese layers out more. Be sure to allow time for this to cool, as it will be soupy and hard to serve if you try to cut it directly after pulling it out of the oven.
Very good! I also rolled the eggplant pieces in italian breadcrumbs and then fried them. I made it for my family and they loved it. We ate almost the whole pan. It's a keeper!!
This was great!! When I used one eggplant I only ended up with a bottom layer and a top layer so I put all of the cheese mix in the middle and I added a little mozzerella on the top. When in the oven I stopped baking after about a half hour and then broiled it for about 2 minutes (or until the mozz is brown) and it was GREAT!! Boyfriend said "This is the best meal you've made...and I'm not just saying that to be nice."
