There is nothing like down-home Italian-American goodness! The majority of Italian-American households have a nice casserole of Italian-American Eggplant Parm on their Sunday Dinner table. Enjoy as a main dish, for your primo, as a side dish to your secondo, or as a wonderful lunch!

Watch Lisa make this recipe on the Lisa’s Italian Kitchen YouTube channel!

Real Italian-American Eggplant Parm (and Eggplant Parm Panini!) Ingredients:

4 eggplant, peeled and drained

4 eggs, beaten in a bowl

2 cups breadcrumbs

1 1/2 cups flour

2 cups Classic Red Sauce (of your choice, but Lisa’s recipe in Whatever Happened to Sunday Dinner? is the best!)

1 cup shredded mozzarella

1 1/2 cups grated Parmigiano Reggiano

Extra Virgin Olive Oil for frying

Real Italian-American Eggplant Parm (and Eggplant Parm Panini!) Directions:

After peeling the four eggplant, slice them, about 1/8-1/4 inch thick in rounds and let them cry (or drain – see Lisa’s video here!). After they have drained for 30 minutes, rinse each slice thoroughly to get all the salt off. In a large frying pan, coat the bottom of the frying pan with Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Prepare three bowls – 1 with the flour, 1 with the four beaten eggs, and 1 with the breadcrumbs. Begin to dip the eggplant, slice by slice, first in the flour, then in the beaten egg, then in the breadcrumbs. Fry on each side until golden. Place on a paper towel to drain.

After all the eggplant have been fried, assemble in a casserole, starting with tomato sauce on the bottom, followed by the eggplant, Parmigiano Reggiano and mozzarella. Layer until the top, ending with tomato sauce with Parmigiano and mozzarella on top. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20-30 minutes.

To make an Italian-American Eggplant Parmigiano Panino: 

Before assembling the casserole, keep a few pieces of the fried eggplant aside (approximately 3-4 slices per sandwich). Take either a loaf of Italian bread or Italian ciabatta rolls. Slice down the middle. In a frying pan, with hot extra virgin olive oil, place 1 side of the ciabatta roll (or bread) inside out (white side down in the pan). Place a tablespoon of tomato sauce, 3-4 slices of the fried eggplant, a tablespoon of shredded mozzarella, and a tablespoon of Eggplant Parmigiano.

Top with the other half of the roll, again – inside out. Place the brick wrapped in aluminum foil on top of the panino to smash it.

Fry on each side for 3-4 minutes, with the brick on top. Enjoy!