The other day we picked three skinny Japanese eggplants, and my mind immediately went to what will I make with these, Of course Eggplant Parmesan, but as my mother so lovingly told me that usually one uses the large fat eggplants to make Eggplant Parmesan. But I decided to use my little skinny guys and 1 large fat zucchini squash, and the results were just fabulous. And got even better the next day. Though my meat eating hubby did ask that next time I add some ground meat to it, and that would be an easy fix. Though I personally did not see the need for any meat.
Ingredients: 1 large Eggplant or Zucchini (both),1 teaspoon of salt, 2 cups of dry bread crumbs (Italian flavor), 1 1/2 cups of flour, 1 egg, ¼ cup milk (half and half), 6 tablespoons of oil, 1 jar of spaghetti sauce, 16 oz. Cottage Cheese, 8 ounces of mozzarella cheese – shredded, 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese – grated
See my skinny little guys and my massive zucchini- first these guys need to sweat
So chop them into 1/4 inch pieces, and place into a colander
Then salt well, and add 1/4 slices of the zucchini as well, mix them up so the salt is equally distributed
Let the veggies sweat for about 30-40 minutes- the salt draws the moisture out.
While there sweating, let start with the batter preparation
Get a small bowl and crack 1 egg, mix well and add a splash of milk
Then add the flour into a plastic bag, and the bread crumbs into another bowl
Once the eggplant and zucchini have sweated for at least 30 minutes
Place them on paper towels to dry off the excess moisture
Add about 1/4 inch of oil to large pan, and heat on medium heat
Drop some zucchini into flour, and shake around till all sides are covered
Then dredge into the egg mixtures getting both sides, and then into the bread crumbs
Place into hot oil and cook for about 2-3 minutes of each sides (depending how large the slices are) and then place on a paper towel covered dish, to drain
continue until all slices are cooked
Then in a 9 X 13 pour a little spaghetti sauce, then a layer of zuchinni and eggplant
Then add half of cottage cheese, and shredded cheese
Then repeat layers and top with shredded cheese
Cover with foil and bake at 400 for 30 minutes, then uncovered for 8 minutes.
Yummo!
Enjoy!
Print This RecipeEggplant Parmesan
1 large Eggplant or Zucchini
1 teaspoon of salt
2 cups of dry bread crumbs (Italian flavor)
1 1/2 cups of flour
1 egg
¼ cup milk (half and half)
6 tablespoons of oil
I jar of spaghetti sauce
16 oz. Cottage Cheese
8 ounces of mozzarella cheese – shredded
1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese – grated
Slice the eggplant into slightly larger than 1/4 inch thick slices. Sprinkle with salt and set in colander for 30-40 minutes. Press a paper towel into each slice to absorb all the liquid drawn from the eggplant.
Put the flour, egg, and crumbs into three separate flat, rimmed dishes. Add 1/4 cup of milk to the egg and with a fork, beat the egg.
Dredge each slice of eggplant into the flour, then dip into the egg, and finally press the bread crumbs into each slice of eggplant.
Preheat your frying pan on medium high heat. Add vegetable or olive oil to the pan and let it get hot. Fry the eggplant until golden brown on each side – flip them only once., cooking about 2-3 minutes each side
Place the eggplant on a plate that has been lined with a paper towel.
In a 9×12 baking dish, put a little sauce on the bottom of the dish and put a layer of eggplant to cover the bottom of the dish. Top with 1/3 of the cottage cheese, mozzarella cheese and sauce. Add another layer of eggplant and repeat the cottage cheese, mozzarella cheese and sauce until everything is used up.
Top with sauce and the mozzarella cheese and the remaining grated Parmesan cheese.
Cover with foil and bake until cheese is melted and everything is bubbling, about 30 minutes at 400°. Remove foil and bake an additional 8-10 minutes. Take it out of the oven and let it sit about 10 minutes before cutting. Enjoy!
This looks fantastic! Thanks for sharing the step-by-step directions too!!
Oh my goodness this looks SOOOOOOOOO good! Thanks for the great post 🙂
That looks good with the addition of zucchini. The small eggplants (aside from being more work because of the number of slices to bread and fry) are probably better to use because they won’t have big crunchy seeds. Would it work to slice the eggplant lengthwise?
I love this recipe! Thanks for sharing.
that looks awesome! thanks for passing it on.
yes, your zucchini-salsa quesadillas were the inspiration for ours… the hubby isn’t a big fan of salsa, so we changed it up a bit.
I don’t know about eggplant Jenna. You’re stretching me here. I have to admit it looks good though.
Oh my goodness that looks fabulous! I can’t wait to hit the farmers market and try this recipe!!
That looks DELICIOUS. I was already hungry but now I’m ready to start gnawing on the corners of my desk…lol
That looks SOOOO good!
I love the step by step instructions too – printing this one up to try!
I had never thought about adding/substituting zucchini. I’ll have to try this when my inlaws large zucchini crop comes in.
I’m impressed that you already have eggplant and zuccini from your garden!
That looks seriously yummy! I like that you added zucchini to it too. The only thing is no one in my house eats eggplant!! Although I’m wondering if I could totally pull it off since it’s smothered in cheese and sauce???
Yummy! I love eggplant parmesan. 😀
This looks yummy! I’ve never made this before so I’ll have to give it a try! I have to report to you that I made the Mexican Lasagna and EVERYBODY loved it! Thanks for the recipe!
YUM!!!! I love chicken parmesan, and I think I would love this! The big eggplant scare me, but I would try these. hehe.
I have never had that before! Looks yummy! TFS
Great idea, using the zucchini! Looking forward to it!
That looks so good! I bet it would be out of this world with a homemade sauce using fresh ingredients and homemade bread crumbs. I’ll have to give this a try. Thanks!
I’ve never cooked eggplant, have cooked zucchini lots though. Thanks for sharing!
~Liz
Mmmm… I’m so hungry and this looks so good right now!
That looks YUMMY! Thanks for sharing!
Wow, this is a wonderful post…and it looks so good…thanks
Becky
I love eggplant parmesan! I am the only one here that does….so I don’t fix it often! Happy Foodie Friday! Have a great weekend ~ Susan
Yum… this is my favorite dish in the world!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This look wonderful. I’m sure it tastes everybit as good as it looks. Have a wonderful weekend.
Thanks for posting this, it sounds wonderful !
Claudia at Claudia’s Irish Eyes
claudiafranson.blogspot.com
Wow those photos really help follow along. I thought you might want to share something tasty with my readers. I am doing a new linky, Friday Feasts, on Momtrends. Here is the link to add your recipe:
http://momtrends.blogspot.com/2009/05/friday-feasts_22.html
We love egplant parmesan. I’ve got one I’m fixing tomorrow – thanks for the share!