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Lightened-Up Eggplant Parmesan

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This eggplant parmesan is superb. Its loaded with fresh herbs, a zesty tomato sauce, cheese, and lightly fried eggplant. It's great for entertaining and can be made in advance. It's a perfect recipe for a Sunday afternoon when you are in the mood for a cooking project and comfort food at its best.
This eggplant parmesan superb. It’s also much lighter than the traditional version.

My husband calls this recipe my eggplant lasagna. In truth, it probably is closer to a lasagna that swaps eggplant slices for noodles than a traditional eggplant parmesan. In my mind though, it will always be eggplant parmesan as it’s the only way I’ve ever prepared the dish. This recipe is based closely on the eggplant parmigiana recipe from the Silver Palate cookbook which claims to be “fresher and lighter than the usual version.” I opted to lighten it up even more by slicing the eggplant even thinner and using less oil. The result is a wonderful dish that is healthier and easier to prepare than the heavy versions – or as Greg would say – eggplant lasagna.

On Cooking Eggplant

You almost always want to salt eggplant before you cook it. And when I say salt, I mean generously – at least ½ tbsp per medium sized eggplant. The salt draws out the bitter juices and keeps it from getting all soggy in the pan. After the eggplant is salted it needs to sit for at least 30 minutes. I think an hour is better but 30 minutes will do if you are pinched for time. Once the resting time is up, rinse the eggplant to get rid of the excess salt. Pat it dry after you rinse it.

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I carefully cut the eggplant lengthwise into thin slices – about ¼ inch thick. After slicing, salt each slice and let it sit in a colander for 30 minutes.
This eggplant parmesan is superb. Its loaded with fresh herbs, a zesty tomato sauce, cheese, and lightly fried eggplant. It's great for entertaining and can be made in advance. It's a perfect recipe for a Sunday afternoon when you are in the mood for a cooking project and comfort food at its best.
Chop the parsley, shred the cheese, and prepare the ricotta mixture. When the eggplant is ready, sautee the slices in batches.
This eggplant parmesan is superb. Its loaded with fresh herbs, a zesty tomato sauce, cheese, and lightly fried eggplant. It's great for entertaining and can be made in advance. It's a perfect recipe for a Sunday afternoon when you are in the mood for a cooking project and comfort food at its best.
Put 1 cup of tomato sauce in your casserole dish. Then add a layer of eggplant. Top the eggplant with ricotta, mozzarella, and another layer of eggplant. Add another layer of cheese and eggplant. Top with remaining tomato sauce and cheese.

This Recipe

This is a great recipe for a Sunday afternoon when you have a little more time for cooking projects. I like to make a double batch of my quick tomato sauce first to use in this recipe and to freeze. You can slice the eggplant before hand so it has an hour to sit. Once the casserole is assembled, you can pop in in the fridge for a few hours if you are not ready to bake it yet. This is also a great dish for entertaining as it’s delicious, it can be prepared in advance, and it makes for a beautiful presentation.

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Lightened-Up Eggplant Parmesan

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Description

This recipe is adapted from the Silver Palate cookbook. Serve it with a simple green salad and crusty french bread.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 medium sized eggplants
  • 2 cups ricotta cheese
  • ¼ tsp salt plus more for salting eggplant
  • ¼ tsp black pepper
  • ¼ cup parmesan cheese, grated
  • 1 cup fresh parsley, chopped
  • 2 eggs
  • extra virgin olive oil, approx ⅓ cup
  • 2 cups tomato sauce, preferably homemade
  • ½ lb whole-milk mozzarella cheese, grated

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
  • Carefully cut the eggplant into thin lengthwise slices. I aim for a width of approximately ¼ inch. Layer the eggplant slices in a large colander salting each individual slice as you go. Let the eggplant sit for at least 30 minutes so the the salt can draw out the bitter juices.
  • Combined the ricotta, parmesan, parsley, eggs, salt and pepper in a mixing bowl. Stir to combined.
  • After the eggplant slices have had  30 minutes to rest, rinse then and pat them dry with paper towels. Line a large plate with paper towel and heat 2 to 3 tbsps of olive oil in a large skillet. When the oil is hot, add several eggplant slices to the skillet leaving plenty of space between each slice. Turn each slice using tongs so that both sides are coated in oil. Sautee the eggplant slices until both sides are golden brown. Transfer browned slices to the lined plate. Add more oil to the pan and brown the next batch of eggplant slices. Continue the process until all slices are cooked. I like to use two pans to speed up the process.
  • Assemble the casserole: Spread approx 1 cup in bottom of your baking dish. Add a layer of eggplant. Top each eggplant with a tbsp or so of ricotta and spread it out. Then sprinkle ⅓ cup of mozzarella over-top. Add another layer of eggplant, ricotta, and mozzarella. Add the final layer of eggplant. Top with the remaining tomato sauce. Spread remaining ricotta on top and sprinkle with remaining mozzarella.
  • Bake the casserole at 400 degrees for 35 to 45 minutes until well browned and bubbling.
  • Let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Notes

You can prepare the casserole several hours or even a day in advance – just make sure to refrigerate it. Take it out of the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before you bake it.

 

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