Eggplant Parm
1 large eggplant or 3 baby eggplants
25oz organic tomato basil marinara
1/2 oz soy parmesan "cheese"
salt
egg substitute
2 cups flour
2 cups canola oil
First, slice eggplant to make either round circles or angled slices (ideal for baby eggplants). Removing skin is optional.
Set aside salt and two small plates of egg and flour (separate) to dip the slices.
Once eggplants are sliced, coat skillet in oil. Rub a small amount of salt on the eggplant slices, dip in egg, then in flour. Once eggplant has a thin layer of flour, it is ready to fry in the oil. Fry until slices are lightly golden.
Remove and place on a plate with a paper towel to sop up excess oil. You will need to discard the oil and clean the skillet a couple of times as its common for flour to get unstuck from the slices and burn in the oil. Discard oil to prevent this. Continue until all slices are coated and fried.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Celsius. Put a layer of marinara sauce on the bottom of a glass casserole dish. Then, put a layer of the eggplant slices over the sauce. Cover with a layer of parm "cheese". Repeat until all slices are incorporated. Top with layer of marinara sauce and cheese.
Bake for 20 minutes. Serve as a side dish or over bread. Enjoy!!
SO HOW'D IT GO?
I haven't tried that but I suppose you could do it that way. I generally don't find sogginess a problem because the eggplants are baked with marinara sauce. I would say they are more tender than soggy. You don't want to fry them for too long because they are baked afterwards.
When I used to make eggplant the ol' omnivorous way I would coat the eggplant slices in salt and let them sit in a strainer in the sink for about 45 minutes to an hour, that way the juices would leak out so they wouldn't be soggy after cooking. Do you recommend doing that?