Eggplant Parmesan

Daughter was coming home from college now thoroughly committed to the vegetarianism she flirted with in high school.  What was a carnivore to do?   Turns out she had commented to my wife that she loved eggplant parmesan so with that I pretty much had my marching orders.  So below you have my version, gleaned from the few cookbooks we have on Italian cooking taking a little from here and a little from there.  Turns out to be fabulously delicious although time consuming.   Stacy loved it so much that she has made it quite successfully for her roommates back at school.  That's an endorsement!

your favorite spaghetti sauce

Cut the eggplant into ¼ to ½" slices. Very lightly salt the eggplant and place into a colander and set aside for an hour (while not recommended this step may be skipped if time does not permit). This allows the eggplant to render some of its moisture (it will bead up on the outside). Dry the eggplant with paper towels.

Beat the eggs with ½ cup of water and set aside. Put the flour into a large plastic bag along with some salt and pepper – shake to mix. Lightly coat the eggplant slices with flour, shake off excess and set aside on a platter. Heat about ¼" of olive oil in a frying pan.

Dip the floured eggplant into the egg wash, shake off excess and put into frying pan (you will need to do this in batches adding more oil as needed). Fry the eggplant until it browns and is fork tender when pierced. Set the browned slices aside to drain on paper towels.

Spread a little sauce on the bottom of a 13"x9" baking pan and lay in one half of the eggplant. Cover with sauce and one half of the mozzarella. Repeat with the remaining eggplant, more sauce and the remaining mozzarella. Sprinkle the Romano or Parmesan on top.

Bake, uncovered, in a 375 degree oven for about 40 minutes or until bubbly.