Ingredients
-
1 large Eggplant
-
3 Beef Steak Tomatoes
-
16 oz Whole Milk Mozzarella Cheese
-
1 cup Bread Crumbs
-
1 cup Marinara Sauce
-
1 tablespoon Dried Herbs Blend
-
4 cloves Garlic
-
to taste Salt
-
to taste Pepper
-
for garnish Parmesan Cheese
-
for garnish Fresh Parsley
My Two Cents
No mess Easy baked Eggplant Parmesan Towers is a lifesaver if you are looking for a fast yet elegant side dish idea. This recipe is so easy, and the result is over the top delicious. Paired with any protein or served on its own, my Easy Eggplant Parmesan will become your favorite!
Have you ever read a recipe and just by looking at it you got tired? Tired ahead of all the cooking, steaming, frying, and complicated steps you will need to take to achieve promised Michelin star dish?
Don’t you sometimes want to just cheat and instead of making your own authentic sauce to crack that jar in your pantry open? If this sounds familiar I want to tell you from the bottom of my heart: it is NOT cheating, it calls LIFE!
Let me tell you, I have my parents visiting right now, so I cook for 4 to 6 persons every day, for 6 weeks, breakfast, lunch and of course dinner. As a food blogger and chef, I felt terrible feeding them anything less than perfection. I lasted 1 week. A week full of stress, frustration, burnt and cut fingers, and feeling like I am one of those chefs at Gordon Ramsay`s Hells Kitchen Show. So did I give up?
No, I still cook but I cheat here and there and spend this precious time with my family instead of mixing a million ingredients in the kitchen for hours. We all need a break!
Your kids got too messy and you spent all day picking up after them? Maybe your boss sent you that last-minute task and you yet again spent too much time trying to wrap up and head home. Add some traffic like a cherry on top. We all had that day. Somehow by unfortunate luck that exact day you need to make a restaurant-worthy dinner. I have a solution for you, right here.
These Easy Eggplant Parmesan towers will take under 40 minutes to prep and cook, leaving no mess in your kitchen (read NO wiping that authentic tomato sauce off your kitchen walls). And if you need extra support to get through this, remember that it is an Italian dish so it goes well with red wine. Red wine needs to aerate so… You got the hint, right?!
Directions
|
1
Done
|
Slice eggplant into 1/2 inch circles. To get rid of bitterness sprinkle salt on each slice and let it sit for 10 minutes. This trick is my go-to when cooking with this vegetable. You can use this time to prep tomatoes and mozzarella cheese. I will cover this more in step 3. |
|
2
Done
|
Wash each eggplant slice to remove salt and dry with a paper towel. Mix bread crumbs with salt, pepper, and dry herbs blend in a little shallow plate or like I did in a baking tray. Chop garlic and mix with melted butter or olive oil. Brush each slice of eggplant with garlic and oil mix on each side and dip it into seasoned bread crumbs. Place on a large baking sheet and send to the bottom rack of your oven with Broiling mode set on high. |
|
3
Done
|
While waiting on breaded eggplant slices to get golden brown, slice each tomato into 1/3 of inch circles. Cut mozzarella cheese into 1 X 1 inch blocks, about 1/2 inch thick. |
|
4
Done
|
Use leftover garlic pieces from the oil you used to brush eggplant slices and mix them with any Marinara sauce of your choice. Now it is time to assemble our owers! Use a deep baking dish and cover its bottom with our sauce. Place the first layer of breaded eggplant circles, cover with tomato slices, then mozzarella, then add a little bit of sauce on top and repeat 2 more times. Finish the third layer of eggplant with double cheese and send it to the middle rack of your oven at 400 F for 15 minutes. |
|
5
Done
|
Right before 15 minutes are done, take it out and grate a little bit of parmesan cheese, add parsley and return for 1 more minute, which will allow the cheese to melt. Serve hot! This Eggplant Parmesan recipe is perfect for any occasion, will pair well with chicken or beef. It also makes an amazing vegetarian option at the party table. Enjoy and remember that sometimes cheating is absolutely fine! |
