Recently I bailed my father-in-law out of trouble when he forgot that we were supposed to go to this fancy, Italian restaurant for dinner on Mother’s Day and he managed to double book himself. I offered to cook for the family instead, so he could do both things, and to also help my mother-in-law stay on track diet-wise, I found us a wonderful eggplant parmesan recipe that wouldn’t make us totally go off the deep end of food. Recipe courtsey of Cooking Light. The only thing I did differently was to use regular Panko, because I just could not find the whole wheat kind. It turned out just fine.
Ingredients
Eggplant:
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2 large eggs, lightly beaten
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1 tablespoon water
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2 cups whole-wheat panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
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1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
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2 (1-pound) eggplants, peeled and cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices
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Cooking spray
Filling:
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1/2 cup torn fresh basil
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1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
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1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
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1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
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1/4 teaspoon salt
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1 (16-ounce) container part-skim ricotta cheese
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1 large egg, lightly beaten
Remaining ingredients:
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1 (24-ounce) jar premium pasta sauce
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1/4 teaspoon salt
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8 ounces thinly sliced mozzarella cheese
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3/4 cup (3 ounces) finely grated fontina cheese
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 375°.
- To make eggplant, combine 2 eggs and 1 tablespoon water in a shallow dish. Combine panko and 1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano in a second shallow dish. Dip eggplant in egg mixture; dredge in panko mixture, pressing gently to adhere and shaking off excess. Place eggplant 1 inch apart on baking sheets coated with cooking spray. Bake at 375° for 30 minutes or until golden, turning once and rotating baking sheets after 15 minutes.
- To make filling, combine basil and next 6 ingredients (through egg).
- To assemble, spoon 1/2 cup pasta sauce in bottom of a 13 x 9-inch glass baking dish coated with cooking spray. Layer half of eggplant slices over pasta sauce. Sprinkle eggplant with 1/8 teaspoon salt. Top with about 3/4 cup pasta sauce; spread half of ricotta mixture over sauce, and top with a third of mozzarella and 1/4 cup fontina. Repeat layers once, ending with about 1 cup pasta sauce. Cover tightly with aluminum foil coated with cooking spray. Bake at 375° for 35 minutes. Remove foil; top with remaining third of mozzarella and 1/4 cup fontina. Bake at 375° for 10 minutes or until sauce is bubbly and cheese melts; cool 10 minutes.
| Calories | 506 |
| Total Fat | 30 g |
| Total Carbohydrates | 35 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 8 g |
| Protein | 30 g |