The other day I purchased an eggplant from the Farmers Market…the eggplant has always intimidated me a little bit. I had heard such great things about ways to cook it but the shape and look made me question my ability to turn it in to something worth digesting. None-the-less….they are in season, a measly $2 for a large one…so I had to give it a try. After asking for suggestions on recipes and scouring the web…I came across an Eggplant Parmesan Recipe that is to DIE for. No really, it is delicious. Deeeeeeeeeeeelllliiiiiiiishhhhhh- US. Not sure how else I can exaggerate that in a blog post to make you believe me. Just trust me on this. It was so good I actually prepared it twice this week for Dusty and I. Here it is – thank me later.

What You Need: 
– olive oil
– 1 Lrg eggplant
– 1 can spaghetti sauce of choice
– 3 cups grated parmesan cheese
– 1/2 cup powdered parmesan cheese
– 1/4 cup salt
– 2 tbs garlic

Behold, below is a photo of a lovely eggplat….intimidating right? Looks like the spawn of Barney…but trust me its ….wonnderrrrful!

First, lightly coat bottom of cookie sheet with olive oil. Then slice the egg plant in 1/4″ slices. Lay them out on a cookie sheet and sprinkle salt on each, let sit for 30 minutes to extract moisture. When you come back there will be moisture droplets on each slice of eggplant, use a paper towel to blot off the moisture.

Next, take the slices of eggplant and lightly brush olive oil on to the eggplant slices…sprinkle them with the powdered parmesan cheese and garlic, flip and make sure to do this on both sides.

Once coated with the parmesan and garlic, lightly brush a pan with olive oil and place the eggplant slices in to the pan. Cook until heated through, flipping the slices over to lightly brown on both sides.

After each slice of eggplant is lightly cooked, lay back on to the baking sheet and pour the spaghetti sauce to cover all slices of eggplant. Then lightly sprinkle (or douse if your me) the grated parmesan cheese on top of the sauce. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees until the cheese is melted and the sauce looks baked and is bubbling. Remove from oven, let cool for a few minutes, use a spatula to serve the egg plant! Add pepper to taste.

Bon Appetit!