Eggplant Mozzarella

Eggplant Mozzarella is a unique spin on Eggplant Parmesan. I chose to call it Eggplant Mozzarella because I actually didn't have any parmesan on the day I wanted to make it but I did have lots of fresh mozzarella, that’s the day this dish was born! It’s a flavorful dish comprised of breaded eggplant, and tomato sauce with plenty of onions, garlic, and spices. It's topped off with a delicious layer of bubbly mozzarella cheese. If you’ve been cautious to try Eggplant Parmesan before, give this a try. I’ll bet you’ll enjoy it! 

Watch me make Eggplant Mozzarella here...or continue below!

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Ingredients

• Eggplant- breaded and cooked in olive oil in a pan
• Fresh Mozzarella cheese- cooked until golden and bubbly on top of the eggplant
• Parsley-one of the herbs used to flavor the sauce, it doubles as a garnish
• Breadcrumbs- used as the top coating for the eggplant
• Egg-acts as the glue and helps the flour stick to the breadcrumbs 
• Onions and Garlic-used to flavor the tomato sauce
• Flour-aids in the cooking process and acts as a barrier between the breadcrumbs and egg 
• Dried spices-oregano, paprika, granulated garlic, onion powder, and basil are used in the tomato sauce
• Salt and pepper- brings out the flavors in the tomato sauce and eggplant 
• Canned Diced tomatoes-the tomato element of the dish-seasoned with herbs and aromatic vegetables 

How to prepare the eggplant for Eggplant Mozzarella

The first thing to do is to start off by cutting the eggplant into even slices. It's important to season each slice generously with salt and pepper. There’s no need to douse it in salt You should use slightly more salt than you normally would, I would use about a teaspoon of salt evenly distributed on all of the slices. How do you do this? Measure out a teaspoon and transfer it into a smaller bowl. Use clean fingers to sprinkle the salt; eggplant slices should be laid out ahead of time. 

Why should I use more salt for Eggplant Mozzarella?

The Science behind the effect of salt on eggplant is actually quite interesting! When you season with a generous amount of salt, the process called Osmosis begins and in turn, draws excess water out of the vegetable. When you do this, it cuts down the cook time and makes the flavor a little richer. 

If this makes you nervous, or you've never cooked eggplant before, start out with a smaller amount of salt and remember that you can always add salt later but you can't take it away.

How to make the tomato sauce

This process is fairly simple! First, you’ll want to make sure that all of the prep work is done for the sauce; that includes chopping the onions, garlic, and parsley. Once this is complete, begin by sautéing the onions in a small saucepan, once translucent; add the garlic and sauté until you can smell it (about 30 seconds) Following this, add the tomato sauce, salt, and pepper and allow the mixture to simmer on low heat for about 10 minutes. After this time has passed add in the parsley right before assembling.

Process

Once the tomato sauce has been made and all of the prep work has been completed, it’s time to assemble the eggplant. The process involved a few steps but there are some things you can prepare to streamline this even more: prepare a small plate with breadcrumbs, prepare a small plate with flour for dredging, prepare a small bowl with 2 beaten eggs. Prepare a pan coated with olive oil. Turn the heat on once all of the slices are ready for cooking. 

1. Make tomato sauce 
2. Slice and season eggplant 
3. Dredge each slice of eggplant in flour first, egg second, then breadcrumbs. 
4. Transfer dredged eggplant to a heated pan and cook on each side until slices are cooked until golden brown.  
5. Transfer each slice of eggplant to a baking sheet and top with a small amount of tomato sauce and one slice of fresh mozzarella cheese. Broil in the oven until cheese is golden and bubbly.  

Substitutions

You can substitute any of the fresh herbs for dried ones, just keep in mind that dried herbs deliver much more flavor than the fresh ones do. A good rule of thumb is that 1 tablespoon of fresh herbs is equivalent to 1 teaspoon of dried herbs.  

Additionally, frozen or pre-packaged minced garlic also works really well and it cuts out a bit of prep-work time.

Variations

Feel free to use store-bought tomato sauce and jazz it up a bit. That is essentially what I’ve done here but the difference is that diced tomatoes don’t have any added flavor. Doing it this way allows you to completely control what goes into your sauce. 

You could even make your sauce completely from scratch if you choose!

This is truly a hearty meatless meal and I hope you enjoy this Eggplant Mozzarella.

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