Ingredients
- 2 large Italian eggplants
- 6 large eggs
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 4 cup seasoned Bread crumbs
- 2 cup grated cheese 1/2 Romano and 1/2 Parmigiana
- Bottle extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cup unbleached flour
- 3 24 oz favorite tomato sauce
- 1 lb shredded whole or skim milk mozzarella
Directions:
1. Wash, peel and thinly slice 2 eggplants, then place all slices evenly spaced on large cookie sheets and place sheets outside in a secure location for direct sun exposure. Allow to dry in the sun for 1 hour on each side. This process is my secret preparation which will extract every bit of moisture from the eggplants, eliminating the bitter taste that is often associated with this vegetable.
2. Return Eggplants to the kitchen, then take three large cooking bowls and in one bowl, whisk egg and milk until a liquid consistency. In a second bowl, combine bread crumbs and a 1 cup grated cheeses. In the third bowl, place bleached flour.
3. First place each individual slice of eggplant into the bowl of flour, coating each side. Take the flour coated slice and place in bowl with egg/milk mixture, also coating both sides. Finally, place each coated slice into the bowl with the bread crumbs cheese combo, and once again make sure to coat both sides. Repeat until each slice is prepared, then place and reserve these coated slices on a large tray.
4. In a large frying pan at medium heat, begin cooking slices of the coated eggplant in olive oil until golden brown on all sides. Repeat until each slice is cooked. Reserve and place these cooked slices on another large tray for later assembly.
5. While frying the slices, preheat oven to 350 degrees so that the oven is preheated when frying is completed. Now, coat the bottom of a large baking dish with room temperature tomato sauce. Evenly place the cooked eggplant until the bottom of a 13 x 9 inch baking pan is covered. Spoon out liberally the tomato sauce until all slices are covered. Followed by evenly sprinkling some of the remaining grated cheese on top, along with a sprinkling of shredded mozzarella.
6. Continue doing this process until pan is full with layers of eggplant, sauce and cheeses. When pan is full, you may have extra eggplant leftover, if you do you can double the slices. (A typical pan will have maybe 3 to 4 layers Use that as your guide) SAVE enough tomato sauce and shredded mozzarella to completely cover the top of the pan. Place pan in preheated oven for at least 40 minutes or until cheese and sauce are bubbling brown. Done. ENJOY!! Bon Appetito a Tutti!!