Eggplant Parmesan

We found some eggplant plants at wal-mart on clearance this spring and decided to give them a try, now that they are producing this is what we are eating and the eggplant isn't slimy or overpowering. The tomato sauce looks orange in the picture because we ended up with some yellow tomatoes in the mix from our garden.

INGREDIENTS:

eggplant
iodized salt-I use regular iodized because there is a reason the government required table salt to have iodine added in, because nasty diseases happen without it!
4 cups tomatoes or 28 oz can
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
Olive oil
pepper
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup fine dry breadcrumbs
4 large eggs, beaten
mozzarella cheese
Parmesan cheese
fresh basil leaves-I use whatever I can cut off my plants without killing them

How To:

1 Cut eggplants lengthwise into 1/4 inch slices. Don't use the end pieces with all of the skin-it gets chewy and gross in the end. Lay out the slices on paper towel, sprinkle with salt and let sit for up to 2 hours but as long as you can, it makes it less soupy in the end.

2 While the eggplant is draining, prepare tomato sauce. Combine
tomatoes, garlic and 1/3 cup olive oil in a food processor. Season with
salt and pepper to tasted and set aside.

3 When eggplant has drained, press down on it to remove excess
water, wipe off the excess salt, and lay the slices out on paper towels
to remove all the moisture. In a wide, shallow bowl, combine flour and
breadcrumbs. Mix well. Pour beaten eggs into another wide shallow
bowl. Place a large, deep skillet over medium heat, and pour in enough oil to fry the slices in. When oil is hot, dredge the eggplant slices first in the flour mixture, then in the beaten egg (yes do it in this order, trust me). Working in batches, slide coated eggplant into hot oil and fry until golden brown on both sides, turning once. Drain on paper towels.

4 Preheat the oven to 350°F. In the bottom of a 9x9 inch glass
baking dish, spread 1 cup of tomato sauce. Top with one third of the
eggplant slices. Top eggplant with half of the mozzarella or enough to cover it.
Sprinkle with Parmesan (enough to cover it) and half of the basil leaves.

5 Make a second layer of eggplant slices, topped by 1 cup of sauce,
remaining mozzarella, some more Parmesan, and all of the basil.
Top with the rest of the sauce and cheeses.

6 Bake until cheese has melted and the top is slightly brown, 30 minutes. Allow to rest at room temperature for about 10 minutes.

I got this recipe from simply recipes online. I switched a nice bit of stuff from the original for one it called for 2 eggplants I only used one to make 2 servings and only 2 layers. The original had a third layer and bigger dish.