Eggplant Parmesan and Marinara Sauce

This is something I haven't made in ages. I have no idea why considering how good it is. Perhaps it was my hips begging me not to...Anyway, we had some friends over for dinner Friday night and so I decided to make it for them. Sorry hips. Good thing we have a dog now to inspire us to run. Well, I run. He causally trots along beside me. Show-off. 


I'll put two recipes here: one for marinara sauce and one for the eggplant. The marinara sauce is a slightly modified version of the Giada De Laurentiis recipe from her Everyday Italian cookbook. I used her basic recipe and added more garlic (only two cloves just didn't seem right), the sherry, and the basil. I like to double the recipe below and freeze it. It's nice to have some ready to go for other things. I'll be using it again later this week. 

Ingredients for Marinara Sauce: 

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 small onions, diced fine
• 2 celery stalks, diced fine
• 2 carrots, diced fine
• 4-5 garlic cloves, chopped 
• 2 - 28 oz cans crushed tomatoes
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 leaves fresh basil, chopped 
• splash or two of very dry sherry or dry white wine (optional)
• salt and pepper to taste 

Heat the oil in a large pot or sauce pan over med-high heat. When oil is hot, add the onions and garlic and cook for about 5-10 minutes. Then add the carrots and celery, season with salt and pepper, and cook for another 10 minutes at least until the vegetables are tender. 


Now add the tomatoes, bay leaves, and basil and stir together with the vegetables. Add the sherry if want (thanks for the tip Grandma Betty!) and mix in. Season with more salt and pepper. Let this simmer for about 45 minutes. Taste and add more salt if needed.  Remember to remove the bay leaves before serving.

Ingredients for Eggplant Parmesan: 

• 2 eggplants, sliced into thin rounds (serves about 6 actually, so if you're just cooking for two, 1 eggplant is more than enough)
• Italian bread crumbs
• flour
• 2 eggs
• block of Parmesan cheese
• ball of fresh mozzarella cheese 

Prepare 3 bowls: one with flour, one with beaten eggs, and one with bread crumbs. Grate a generous amount of the Parmesan cheese into the bread crumbs. Use the finest grater you have.  First coat the eggplant slices in the flour and shake off the excess. Next dip them in the egg, and then in the breadcrumbs. 


Heat some vegetable oil in a large skillet over med-high heat. When oil is good and hot, start frying the eggplant. Make sure each side is nicely brown. 


While the eggplant is frying, cover a baking sheet with foil. Line the eggplant slices on the baking sheet and dot with the fresh mozzarella cheese. Use a little, or a lot, depending on how cheesy you like things. Then grate more Parmesan cheese over the top. Put under the broiler until the cheese begins to bubble and brown. 

I don't top these with sauce until plated and ready to serve. Personally, I really don't like soggy eggplant. I grate a little more Parmesan over the top. You could really serve this with whatever - roasted potatoes, a vegetable, salad, etc. I made it simple and served it with some angel hair pasta with the marinara sauce. 


Enjoy and tell your hips to be quiet for awhile. You'll run tomorrow.