Tyler Florence's Eggplant Parmesan
Servings: 8
Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence, with a spicy tomato sauce of olives and capers. Let it stand 20 minutes before cutting.
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup Olive oil, extra-virgin, for the sauce, plus more for frying
- 3 clove Garlic, minced
- 1 cup Black olive, pitted, roughly chopped
- 1 tsp Red pepper flakes, hot
- 3 tbsp Capers, drained
- 2 can Tomato, 28-ounce (recommended: San Marzano), crushed by hand
- 1/4 cup Basil, fresh leaves, torn, for the sauce
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper, freshly ground
- 4 cup Bread crumbs, dried
- 1 tbsp Garlic powder
- 1 tbsp Oregano, dried
- 5 Egg, divided
- 1 cup Flour, all-purpose
- 4 lb Eggplant, medium, trimmed, cut lengthwise into 1/2-inch slices
- 2 lb Ricotta, whole milk
- 1/2 cup Basil, fresh leaves, chopped
- 1 1/4 cup Pecorino romano, Parmigiano-Romano, freshly grated, divided
- 2 lb Mozzarella, shredded
- Butter, for the dish
Directions
- Sauce: heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat and cook the garlic 1 minute. Add the olives, red pepper and capers and cook 2 minutes, stirring. Add the tomatoes and juices, bring to a low simmer, stir in the torn basil, season and simmer 10 minutes.
- Mix the bread crumbs, garlic powder and oregano in a shallow bowl and season generously. Beat 3 eggs with salt and pepper in another bowl. Season the flour in a third.
- Heat about 1/4 inch of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Dredge the eggplant in flour, dip in egg, coat in crumbs and fry in a single layer until tender and browned on both sides. Drain on paper towels, adding oil as needed.
- Stir together the ricotta, 1/2 cup of the grated cheese, the chopped basil and the remaining 2 eggs, and season.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a large buttered baking dish, layer sauce, eggplant, half the ricotta, sauce and a third of the mozzarella. Repeat with eggplant, the rest of the ricotta, sauce and another third of the mozzarella. Finish with eggplant, the rest of the sauce and mozzarella, and the remaining 3/4 cup grated cheese.
- Bake about 1 hour, until golden and bubbling.