A gooey, cheese, made from the heart, Work Vineyard’s Eggplant Parmesan dish is meant to be the centerpiece of your meal. Enjoy this dish, alongside a bottle of Adrien’s Blend, for a true winter treat.
Eggplant Parmesan
• 2 medium eggplant, cut into 1/2-inch-thick round slices
• Kosher salt, to taste
• 5 cups breadcrumbs plain or seasoned
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme
• Freshly ground black pepper
• All-purpose flour for dredging
• 8 large eggs white, beaten
• 2 tablespoons whole milk
• Olive oil, as needed
• 7 cups Marinara Sauce, recipe below or you may purchase your
favorite sauce
• 2/3 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
• 1 pound thinly sliced fresh mozzarella cheese
• Vegetable oil for frying *If you use seasoned bread crumbs you can delete the dried Oregano
and Thyme
Ingredients for Marinara Sauce
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 medium diced onion or 1/3 cup
• 5 cloves chopped garlic
• 7 cups whole canned tomatoes in puree
• 2 sprigs of fresh thyme or dried
• 2 sprigs of fresh basil or dried
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Red Pepper flakes to taste
Marinara Sauce Directions:
• Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and
garlic, stirring, until lightly browned. Add the tomatoes and the fresh
herbs or the dried herbs. Lower the heat and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes.
Eggplant Parmesan Directions:
• Arrange the eggplant slices on several baking sheets and sprinkle all
over with kosher salt. Set aside to let the juices weep from the
eggplant (this will help in not absorbing a lot of oil when frying), about
1 hour, then dry with paper towel
• In a large bowl, mix together all of the dry ingredients, breadcrumbs,
oregano, thyme and black pepper
• Place the flour in a medium bowl. In another medium bowl, whisk the
egg white and milk together (wet ingredients). Dredge an eggplant
slice in the flour, then dip it in the egg wash, and finally dredge it in
the breadcrumb mixture. Shake off any excess breading and transfer
the eggplant to a baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining eggplant.
• In a large pan pour the oil to about 1/2 inch. Heat the oil over medium
to 400 degrees F. The oil must be heated to 400 degrees F. so that
the breaded eggplant, when added, will drop the temperature of the oil
to the proper frying temperature of 375 degrees F. Use deep frying
thermometer.
• Fry the eggplant slices, until golden brown on both sides, transfer to a
paper towel-lined baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining eggplant.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly brush baking dish with olive
oil. Cover the bottom of the baking dish with 1/3 of the marinara
sauce and arrange half of the eggplant over the sauce. Cover the
eggplant with rest of the sauce. Scatter half of the parmesan and half
of the mozzarella over the sauced eggplant. Repeat with the remaining
eggplant, sauce, parmesan, and mozzarella. Bake until hot and just
beginning to brown.