Eggplant Parmesan

This was my first ever eggplant parm, even cooking w/eggplant. So I made a small 8x8 pan of this for myself because I know they won't even try it. I ate eggplant growing up but never liked it. Finally after thinking about it all these years I gave up and tried it with this recipe. Guess what. I liked it. I made this weeks ago and right now am wishing I had some for lunch. I used my spaghetti sauce recipe for this, just left out the meat.

Eggplant Parmesan
adapted from allrecipes -to scale down, serves 4

1 eggplant, peeled and thinly sliced into 8
Kosher salt
2 eggs, beaten
4 cups panko bread crumbs
6 cups homemade marinara sauce, divided
1 (16 ounce) package mozzarella cheese, shredded and divided
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
Italian seasoning, to taste
garlic powder, to taste
pepper, to taste
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Sweat eggplant by salting each side, lay flat on paper towles for 30 minutes to drain moisture. Rinse well and pat dry.

Season eggs and panko (in seperate bowls) with a little Italian seasoning, garlic powder and pepper.
Dip eggplant slices in seasoned egg, then in seasoned panko crumbs. Place in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes on each side.

In an 8x8 inch baking dish spread marinara sauce to cover the bottom. Place a layer of eggplant slices in the sauce. Sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Repeat with remaining ingredients, ending with the cheeses. Sprinkle basil on top.

Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until golden brown. Allow to rest for 15 minutes.

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enjoy,