Eggplant Parmesan...leave this one to the professionals.

One of my favourtie items to order at an Italian restaurant is Eggplant Parmesan. I love how it tastes and that it is not as filling as Chicken Parmesan so you feel satisfied but not over-stuffed. I was grocery shopping the other day and decided to pick up an Eggplant. Its something I never think about buying and I thought that I could make my own Eggplant Parmesan for dinner. I decided to buy my favourite store bought spaghetti sauce, President's Choice Marinara, because I needed to make a sauce for another meal. Call me lazy, but some days are easier to make meals than others. I checked out pinterest for a recipe for Eggplant Parmesan while shopping, oh the wonder of smart phones, to make sure that I had all the needed ingredients.

A couple of days after shopping, I decided that it was time to make my Eggplant Parmesan. I did a quick google search to see if I needed to prepare my eggplant in any way. I found out that once you slice the Eggplant, you should soak it in a salt bath for 5-10 minutes. There are two reasons for this bath salt: 1) it pulls out the juices that carry bitter flavours and 2) it collapses the air pockets in the eggplants sponge-like flesh, thus preventing it from absorbing too much oil and getting greasy. However, I missed one major important step...PEEL FOR THE BEST TEXTURE. I have a feeling this is where my eggplant making went so very wrong!! I will put some of the blame on the recipe because it did not state to do either step (a non-professional cook can pass the blame, right??)

The instructions seemed easy enough so it was time to begin!! I imagined cutting into my eggplant was like a surgeon cutting into a leg for the first time (and cue your favourite Grey's moment). Okay, that may be a bit of an exaggeration but I was a little afraid since this was my first time purchasing, cutting and cooking an eggplant. I sliced the eggplant and placed the slices into its salt bath. While it was soaking, I prepared the cheese as well as the bread crumbs. After 10 minutes, I began to take the slices out of their soak and dried them well with paper towel. I then covered the eggplant in bread crumbs and cheese combo and placed them into the pan. I had decided to cook the eggplant in a pan with some oil first in order to make the batter a bit crispy. I read, during my google search, that it is best to pretty much overcook your eggplant so in my mind, a quick fry in a pan of oil would be helpful. I used olive oil and cooked them until the batter was golden on each side.

Next, I place a little sauce on the bottom of my casserole dish and then placed the eggplant slices on top. I added more sauce and then some of the cheese I had shredded to top it off. I then placed this into the oven, which was preheated to 400, and baked for 20 minutes. While the eggplant was baking, I threw together a salad and started to cook my pasta. I was so on the ball that everything was ready at the same time!! BONUS.

When the Eggplant Parmesan came out of the oven, it looked and smelled delicious!! I was very excited to chow down!! I placed eggplant slices on top of my pasta, added a little extra sauce from the dish and was pleased with the presentation. My daughter was also excited because she loves a good pasta night!! So, we sat down and I took a deep breath as I was about to place the first piece into my mouth. I had high expectations (haha). My daughter also placed her first piece into her mouth at pretty much the same time as me...and I am sure some would  of found our facial expressions priceless. No, they were not expressions of "omg, best meal ever," it was more like "what the ____ did I just make??!!"

I knew it was bad. The texture was bad, the taste was bad and our facial expressions were worse. My daughter looked at me, spit out what was in her mouth and proclaimed "Mommy, me full!!" Yes indeed it was that bad. I tend to brag a little at the fact that my kid is a great eater, and it is very rare that she does not like something new. I had to agree with her and could not place another bite into my mouth because the  thought of putting another piece in there made my stomach turn. Yes, cue the melodramatic music here, but it was so disappointing.

I learned to leave this type of dish to the professionals. I also learned to keep some sort of plan B meal available when trying new recipes. We ended up having eggs and toast for dinner that night.

Ingredients:

• 2 large eggplant, sliced in 1/4" slices
• 6 large egg whites
• 6 tablespoons water
• 2 cups Italian seasoned panko bread crumbs, or plain bread crumbs and two tablespoons Italian seasoning
• 1 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
• 1 cup low fat mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 2 ½ cups low sugar spaghetti sauce

Instructions.

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spray two non-stick baking sheets with olive oil cooking spray. Spray a medium sized baking dish with olive oil cooking spray.
2. Whip eggs with water and place in one dish, then place panko bread crumbs and half the Parmesan cheese in another dish.
3. Dredge eggplant in egg then in the panko and place on the baking sheet.
4. Bake for 15 minutes, then flip and bake another 15 minutes.
5. Spread 1/2 cup sauce on the bottom of the baking dish and layer half the eggplant on the bottom. Spread another 1 cup sauce on top of eggplant and sprinkle with half the mozzarella cheese.
6. Add the remaining layer of eggplant, spread with remaining sauce, mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.
7. Bake for 20 minutes until golden brown on top.

Rating:

Preparation: 8/10...Preparing this recipe was not too hard but with a few steps to take, it was about an hour total, between prep and cooking. I learned that you really need to research how to prepare eggplant before cooking and always remember to PEEL FIRST!

Taste: 4/10...The sauce was good, the pasta was cooked to perfection and I love cheese.

Servings: 10/10...Honestly, this recipe yielded plenty and would of allowed for leftovers, if I hadn't thrown it out.

Overall, I give this recipe a 22 out of 30. Now, to be fair, the poor taste (okay okay bad bad taste) could of come from how the eggplant was prepared, however, the recipe did not give any indication that you needed to peel the eggplant and soak it first. The title of the recipe is "Don't like Eggplant? This Low Calorie Eggplant  Recipe Will Change Your Mind." I'm sorry, but this recipe will not change your mind if you are not an eggplant lover.

If you have any other tips on cooking eggplant, please leave a comment and let me know!!

Here is the website for the recipe:
http://motherrimmy.com/eggplant-parmesan-recipe

~Amanda