Marinara Sauce and Eggplant Parm

I got home after a long day at work and wanted to make Eggplant Parm. Earlier in the day I had soaked the slices of eggplant in milk to take out the bitterness. I however didn't check my pantry. I was not only out of bread crumbs but marinara sauce as well. I did have two cans of stewed tomatoes and a loaf of bakery multi-grain bread.

I sliced the bread and cut it into cubes and coated them with some oil. I toasted them in a hot 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes and flipped once. When they were crunchy I pulsed them a few times in my food processor. I was a bit rushed and should have pulsed them a few more times. I am in need of a new food processor. The shoot broke off so I have to place my hand over the opening. Bread crumbs were flying out of the top and sides. To the bread crumbs I added 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese.  It was really quite comical! I then followed the three step breading process or flour, egg, bread crumbs for the eggplant. Once coated, I fried them in some olive oil on the stove top and drained them on paper towels.

The marinara was really easy to make too. In my cleaned out food processor, I pulsed two cloves of garlic, 1/2 onion, and a handful of parsley, 1 tsp. salt, and one tsp. Oregano. To that I added two small cans of stewed tomatoes and one small can of tomato paste. One of the stewed tomatoes was drained of liquid. I then pulsed until it was a the consistency I wanted which was a bit chunky. Again I had a bit of a mess.  I removed the sauce to  a pan and reduced it on low for 25 minutes. I added it to the bottom of a Pyrex 9x13. I added a layer of eggplant followed by a layer of sauce and another layer of sauce. Then I topped off with about a cup of cheddar cheese and baked for 25 minutes.

This is one of our favorites in my house! For a more detailed recipe, search it at the top of my page.