Ina Garten – Serves – 6

Roasted Eggplant Parmesan, a timeless Italian dish, hits a trifecta of flavor with the silky eggplant, warm marinara sauce, and gooey, melty cheese. This recipe has a few hidden tricks to make it special. 

Instead of the traditional method of frying a breaded eggplant, this recipe roasts it in the oven to achieve a lighter version of the dish. A bonus is that by baking it, you can avoid the messy, greasy splatter, and the cleanup is much easier. The second valuable trick is the use of Rao’s marinara sauce. Trust me, you don’t need to spend seven hours making a marinara sauce. Simply open the jar. No one will be able to taste the difference. 

Taste is something I always took for granted. Linda Erskine, a friend from high school, shared this recipe for Eggplant Parmesan with me. She has opened her beautiful home near Napa to her high school friends for small reunions. She is a good home cook who focuses on cooking healthy and working smarter, not harder. She will be the first to tell you that she doesn’t cook; she assembles food. With all ingredients in place, Linda set about “assembling” this dish one layer at a time, and boy is it good.

Ingredients

• 2½ lb Eggplant, unpeeled, halved lengthwise, and sliced 1/4- to 1/3-inch thick 
• 1/2 C Olive oil
• 1 t Dried oregano
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1  Jar of Marinara sauce (24-ounce) I swear by Rao’s 
• 1/2 C  Julienned fresh basil leaves
• 1 lb Fresh buffalo mozzarella, thinly sliced
• 8 oz Garlic and herb goat cheese, such as Montrachet1
• ½ C Freshly grated Italian Parmesan cheese

For the topping:

• 1 1/3C Panko bread crumbs
• 4  Garlic cloves, minced
• ¼ C Chopped fresh basil or parsley leaves
• ¼ C Olive oil

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 400°F and arrange three racks evenly spaced. 
• Lay the eggplant in one layer on three sheet pans and brush both sides with olive oil, using all the oil. 
• Sprinkle with the oregano, crushing it lightly in your hands, then sprinkle with 1 1/2 tablespoons salt and 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper. Bake for 15 minutes. Turn the slices and rotate the pans in the oven, and bake for another 10 minutes, until tender. Leave the oven at 400°F.
• In a 10×14×2-inch ceramic baking dish, spread 1/3 of the marinara sauce. Arrange a third of the eggplant on top in one layer. Scatter a third of the basil, a third of the mozzarella, a third of the goat cheese, and a third of the Parmesan on top. Repeat twice, starting with the marinara and ending with the Parmesan, making sure each layer is evenly distributed.
• For the topping, place the bread crumbs, garlic, and basil in a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the 1/4 cup olive oil and one teaspoon salt and pulse to moisten the crumbs. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the dish.
• Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until bubbling and golden brown. Allow to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving.