Eggplant Parm of My Dreams

Eggplant Parm of My Dreams
Grazie mille to Corinne and the Testaverde family for sharing their prized family recipe. This is like the pinnacle of eggplant parm tastiness. Everything one could want in the dish — creamy, cheesy, savory, rich, comforting, homey perfection.

Serves: 4

Prep Time: 30-40 minutes (it takes awhile to fry up all the eggplant)

Ingredients:
1 apple-bottom eggplant – make sure it’s firm
16 oz. package whole milk mozzarella (Recommended brands: Polly-O, don’t use Sorrento – for some reason it doesn’t work as well)
1 ½ cups Italian flavored bread crumbs (Recommended brand: Progresso)
2 eggs
¼ cup milk
Extra Virgin Olive Oil for frying
Tomato Sauce (Recommended brand: Barilla Three Cheese)

Preparation:
1. Heat oil in a large skillet, enough so that you have a good inch to fry in
2. Remove skin from eggplant, cut into 1/8 inch slices
3. Dip eggplant into egg & milk mixture
4. Coat both sides of eggplant in breadcrumb
5. Make sure oil is hot in skillet before putting eggplant in (they’ll get too soggy if it’s not hot enough)
6. Preheat Oven to 350°
7. Place breaded eggplant into skillet and brown on both sides
8. While eggplant is cooking, cut mozzarella into thin slices as well
9. Remove eggplant from skillet once fully browned, place on paper towels to soak up some of the excess oil
10. Spoon a layer of sauce into bottom of baking dish
11. Place a layer of browned eggplant on top of sauce layer, overlapping the slices to create one uninterrupted layer of eggplant.
12. Spoon another layer of sauce (not too much) on-top of eggplant
13. Place a layer of the sliced mozzarella on top of sauce
14. Repeat; eggplant, sauce, mozzarella layers ending on top with mozzarella
15. Cover dish with aluminum foil and bake in oven for approx 20–30 mins, until cheese is melted
16. Eat and enjoy the gooey deliciousness!