Roberto’s Baked-Not-Fried Eggplant Parmigiana
This dish is named for the man who gave me my first professional cooking job, Roberto Benabib, writer and producer of the popular Showtime series Weeds.
He and his wife, Samantha, a college friend of mine, were new parents who hired me to deliver homemade food twice a week following the birth of their daughter, Carolina. Considering the nature of Roberto’s show, I imagined I might be preparing stoner food—you know, nachos, corndogs, cookie dough. Alas, for the record, Roberto and Samantha are not stoners.
I needed to prepare foods that reheat well and taste just as good the second time on the stove or oven: saucy, slow-cooked foods like stewed chicken thighs, brisket and lamb meatballs. Unfortunately, at our initial consultation, they rejected all those dishes.
Roberto and Samantha wanted lean, healthy proteins. Nothing fried. Nothing too heavy. I set to work in my kitchen, testing out turkey meatballs that never touched a hot oiled skillet, salmon crisped in the oven and then cooked in a puttanesca sauce, and ultimately this baked-not-fried eggplant parmigiana.
Now let me be very clear: Prior to this invention, I’d never liked eggplant parmigiana. I found it too heavy. Of course, Italians always told me I’d never eaten a proper one. The fact is, I don’t like fried foods with sauce and cheese. That’s why I came up with this recipe: The eggplant slices are lightly breaded and baked instead of fried, then served with a sweet and tangy tomato-basil sauce with Parmigiano Reggiano and mozzarella added only on the top layer, so it’s not weighed down with melted cheese.
For Roberto and Samantha, it worked, with reworks on top. This became Roberto’s favorite dish, and we made sure there was one waiting for him every week.
Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients
2 eggplants (about 1 pound each)
3 eggs
3 cups panko bread crumbs
1 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano
1 large “ball” fresh mozzarella cheese (about 4 ounces)
Simple Tomato and Basil Sauce , room temperature
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400°F, and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Cut the eggplant into 1⁄3 to 1⁄2-inch slices. This is my easy way: cut off the green top of the eggplant and the bottom round. Cut the eggplant in half horizontally so you can have each half stand easily upright on your cutting board. Now, seeing the eggplant as a “square,” go ahead and cut off the skin on two opposite sides so you will have an eggplant that has skin on two sides and not on the other two. Starting on a naked side, with the eggplant standing upright, cut it into slices. Each will have skin on the sides. Continue with the rest.
Lightly beat the eggs in a shallow bowl. Put the panko in another shallow bowl.
One by one, dip each slice of eggplant in the eggs to cover. Then dip in the panko to cover. Place on the baking sheet.
Bake the eggplant until soft, about 12 minutes. Some pieces will be mushier or less cooked than others. This is ok. Let the slices cool.
Lightly cover the bottom of a medium baking dish with the tomato sauce and sprinkle the Parmigiano to lightly cover. (An 8 x 8-inch square dish, or any configuration that adds up to around 64 square inches, is the right size for the portions listed above. But if you have a larger dish, just double the recipe.) Layer the tomato and Parmigiano with eggplant, followed by another light layer of sauce, followed by another sprinkling of the Parmigiano. (I use a silicone pastry brush to paint the tomato sauce into every crevice.)
Continue until you have three layers of eggplant, making sure you finish with tomato sauce and Parmigiano.
Cut the mozzarella cheese in slices and place them on top of the eggplant, equally spaced.
Bake uncovered until bubbly, 35 to 40 minutes. If you would like to serve it neatly and you have some self-control, let it sit for a good 10 minutes before cutting.
Note: You can easily double this recipe and use a large (9 x 13-inch) baking dish.
Make Ahead Prep: Make the tomato sauce and prepare the eggplant several days in advance. If you want to make the whole thing in advance, go ahead and bake the dish as instructed, let it cool, cover it with foil, and keep it in the fridge. Reheat at 350°F, uncovering halfway to let the mozzarella bubble.