You don’t always have to reimagine a food classic, it’s a classic for a reason. It’s a dish that’s stood the test of time and modernizing it just for the sake of making it different is not always necessary. This is the case with eggplant parmesan. It’s a breaded fried cut of eggplant, topped with a giant hunk of cheese and doused in a tomato sauce. That’s pretty much it, and it’s fantastic. Again, there is no reason to modify or edit to whatsoever.
But I had to, I just had to try. And while this might not stray too far from a typical eggplant parmesan, it’s just different enough and good enough to possibly dethrone the classic in a no-holds-bard wrestling match. A few things elevate my version over the original, and it starts with the breadcrumbs. I used a rosemary bread from a local bakery here in Phoenix, Noble Bread. In substitution, find yourself a good artisan loaf of bread, something with herbs or garlic in it. Find a bread that you just fall in love with. Then take that bread, and don’t touch it for a few days or until it’s stale. Huh? Yes, don’t touch it until it’s no longer fresh and hard to the touch. After your bread is certified stale, cut it into small cubes and pulse them, a couple handfuls at a time, in a food processor or blender until you’ve got some very fine breadcrumbs. You can store these for a couple of weeks and any leftovers after making the eggplant parmesan would go great on top of some mac n cheese or roasted veggies for texture. This is also a good idea on what to do with your existing loaf of bread once it’s lost its freshness. No need to buy a special loaf just for this eggplant parmesan, however Noble is just so damn good, it’s worth buying the bread just to let it go stale and use it as breadcrumbs.
Now onto the tomato sauce. It’s just tomato sauce. But, it doesn’t just have to be tomato sauce. Simmering away some gorgeous cherry tomatoes in olive oil, with just a pinch of salt and a couple chopped cloves of garlic, and then adding harissa in place of what might be tomato paste, will give you a rich hearty tomato gravy that has just the right amount of heat. This tomato sauce is the glue that pulls this dish together. It’s also incredibly simple to make and jacks up the wow factor when serving this. It’s a professional cook’s tomato sauce that any amateur home cook can execute well.
A base grain is needed to really soak up all the goodness that’s in this dish. The juicy fried eggplant, the melted mozzarella, the herbaceous breadcrumbs and hearty tomato gravy need something to be soaked up in. Polenta came to mind, which as Michael Symon said “is the same as grits but $20 more”. So in my pantry I have instant poor man’s polenta, 5 minute grits! There is no need to modify instant grits. Be a monkey and follow the directions on the side of the box. Feel free to substitute for quinoa or rice if you prefer.
Here’s an unneeded elevated classic. You’ll thank me for making eggplant parmesan fun.
Eggplant Parmesan with Harissa Cherry Tomato Gravy
Ingredients
Eggplant Parmesan
- 1 Eggplant medium to large, enough for 6-8 decent 1-inch slices
- 1 cup breadcrumbs, Italian or homemade as described above (you can use boxed breadcrumbs but utilizing an artisan loaf and making your own breadcrumbs as outlined above will really increase the flavor here).
- 1 cup all-purpose flour for dredging
- 4 eggs for the egg dip
- 1 tbsp za'atar substitute thyme and oregano if you don't have za'atar. Add this to your flour dredge.
- vegetable oil enough to make a 1 inch deep pool in your frying pan
- mozzarella cheese large slices, about 1/4 inch in thickness, to top each slice of eggplant before baking/broiling
- 1 cup parmesan cheese shredded or grated. I use an entire bag of pre-packaged shredded parmesan to shortcut the grating of fresh cheese. shhhhh, don't tell anyone.
- kosher salt to bleed out the moisture from the eggplant
- olive oil to brush the baking pan with
Harissa Cherry Tomato Gravy
- 2 pints cherry tomatoes
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 shallot chopped
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp harissa paste 1 tbsp is the perfect amount for me, but if you want to approach with caution to not overdue the heat, start with half the amount and you can always add more later.
Instructions
For frying and baking the eggplant
- Arrange the eggplant slices on several baking sheets and sprinkle generously all over with kosher salt. Set aside to let the moisture bleed out from the eggplant, about 1 hour.
- Transfer the eggplant to a colander in the sink, and rinse well under cold running water. Transfer eggplant to a work surface and blot very dry with paper towels. Allow the eggplant to sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes to thoroughly air-dry before proceeding to the next step.
- Depending on pan size the actual amount of frying oil will vary, however aim for a 1 inch deep amount of vegetable oil. Frying can begin once the oil reaches 375 degrees. Take your time getting to this temperature as rushing the heating process will result in significantly hotter oil. Once your oil reaches 375 degrees, take a slice of eggplant and dredge it in the za'atar-flour mixture and coat well, shaking off any excess flour before proceeding with the egg dip. Then dunk it in the beaten egg making sure to coat entirely, and lastly coat well in the breadcrumbs. Slowly place the pieces, a few at a time so as not to overcrowded the pan, directly into the oil. Fry for 2-3 minutes until golden, and then carefully flip , cooking for an additional 2-3 minutes until complete. Once finished, transfer the crispy eggplant slices to a plate or baking sheet lined with paper towels to allow the excess oil to drop off.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly brush a baking dish large enough to fit all the slices of eggplant, with olive oil. Cover the bottom of the baking dish with 1/3 of the cherry tomato gravy and arrange the eggplant over the sauce. Cover the eggplant with a few tablespoons of the sauce. Place a large slice of mozzarella on each slice of eggplant and top with a healthy amount of shredded parmesan. Repeat with the remaining eggplant, sauce, mozzarella and parmesan. Bake until hot and just beginning to brown, about 20 minutes. After the 20 minute mark, if your cheese isn't nice and golden brown, crank up the oven to broil and keep a close watch on your eggplant so as not to burn it. It will broil quickly. Once to your desired cheese doneness, remove from oven.
- Toss a healthy amount of grits/polenta/quinoa/rice or any other grain that you want to soak up all the goodness that's contained in this dish, on the bottom of a shallow dish or plate. Place a slice of the eggplant on top, followed by a couple spoonfuls of the gravy, and a little fresh basil or parsley for garnish.
Harissa Cherry Tomato Gravy
- Add all ingredients above except for the harissa to a medium pot, and bring to a simmer. The tomatoes will slowly pop and release their juices. Stir occasionally until most of the tomatoes have popped and allow for a 30 minute simmer. After the 30 minutes, add the harissa paste, stirring well to incorporate and simmer for an additional 5 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat. Using an immersion blender, blend the gravy until a smooth consistency is achieved. You can adjust the harissa amount to your desired spice level. You can always add more so feel free to start with 1 tsp in case a tablespoon is too much for your liking.
