An “Un-Official” Eggplant Parmesan

With this week’s family dinner, I felt inspired to create a hearty vegetable dish alongside the meal’s protein. Eggplant stood out as I cruised the aisles of Costco (you’ll soon learn about my Costco addiction).

I don’t claim to be well versed in Italian cooking, however, eggplant parmesan seemed to fit the bill for this meal. After browsing the standard formulas online, I felt confident enough to create my own dish. Give it a try and I can guarantee a crowd-pleasing success!

/A/MY’s Un-Official Eggplant Parmesan

4 baby eggplant
2 TB salt
2 TB pepper
2 TB dehydrated onion
2 garlic cloves (minced)
1 TB chili infused olive oil
3 TB olive oil
4 C panko breadcrumbs
2 C baby spinach
1 Jar pasta sauce
1 C parmesan
1 C grated mozzarella

Preheat oven to 425゜(375゜ for convection)

Slice eggplant into 1/4 inch rounds and place into mixing bowl. Mix together with salt, pepper, onion, garlic and olive oils. Dredge each seasoned eggplant round in panko breadcrumbs to coat. Line a cookie sheet with a cooling rack. As each round is dipped through the breadcumbs place onto the rack.

Oven-Fried Eggplant

Bake the seasoned and breaded eggplant slices for 20-30 minutes. Let stand.

Cover the bottom of a 9×13 glass baking dish with 1/3 C of store-bought pasta sauce. Begin the laying process by placing 1 C of fresh baby spinach atop sauce. Follow with half of the oven fried eggplant. Top with 1/2 C of both parmesan and mozzarella. Repeat with sauce, spinach, eggplant and cheese. Finish with the remaining 1/3 C of sauce.