The Wife's Eggplant Parmigiana and Meatball Casserole

Note: the following post is from The Wife

This past summer, our garden yielded more eggplant than we could reasonably expect to eat.  Apparently, my coworker was having the same problem, and she started bringing in eggplant for me.  I have a hard time turning down free produce – even when I already have an overabundance of it.  Week after week, I made my recipe for Eggplant Parmigiana (omitting step 9) and then bagged and froze it.  The deep freeze was jam-packed.  The same coworker’s husband had a stroke early in the school year, and the staff put together a meal train to assist them.  I figured it was only fitting to return some of the eggplant from whence it came, so I threw this recipe together as my contribution to the meal train.    

The Wife's Eggplant Parmigiana Casserole

Ingredients

• 3 freezer bags (quart size) of pre-made eggplant parmigiana (Vague, I know.  One layer of the casserole uses approximately 12 average-size eggplant slices.  If you were making the eggplant parmigiana on the same day, I would guess you would need 3 medium eggplants.)

• 48 oz. pasta sauce (The first time, I used The Husband’s pasta sauce because we had it on hand.  When I made this recipe for a staff lunch, I purchased Prego’s Italian Sausage and Garlic sauce.)

• 1 bag (18 count) frozen meatballs (whatever style you prefer)

• Grated Parmesan cheese

• 8 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

1.  Add frozen meatballs to pasta sauce and heat through.  Once meatballs are cooked, halve them.  (I suppose you could also halve them while they are still frozen – whatever works.)

2.  Preheat oven to 375F (190C, Gasmark 5)

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3.  In a standard 9 x 13 casserole dish, lay your first layer of pre-made eggplant parmigiana.

4.  Place a dozen meatball halves at regular intervals across the first layer.

5.  Spoon pasta sauce over the first layer; spread so all eggplant slices are completely covered.

6.  Lightly sprinkle with grated Parmesan.

7.  Cover with 1/3 of shredded mozzarella.

8.  Repeat steps 3-7 twice more.

It should look something like this before going into the oven

9. Bake for 25 minutes until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbling.

10. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Good times!

The Wife's Eggplant Parmigiana

Note: the following post is from the wife.

Okay, The Husband has posted several pictures of this, and I promised to type up the recipe…quite some time ago. This is one of my favorite meals to make with eggplant, mostly because it’s one of the only ways I can get my husband to eat said vegetable. I also feel it’s an improvement on Olive Garden’s eggplant parmigiana because the eggplant isn't squishy.

Eggplant Parmigiana
via The Wife

Ingredients

(assuming you’re only serving 2, but this is easily doubled)

• 1 large eggplant (Of course, this is subjective. I grew what I considered to be a pretty large eggplant this summer, but then I saw one at a farmer’s market that put mine to shame…)

  

  This little fellow seems fairly shameless.

• 1 egg
• ½ cup bread crumbs (I use Italian style, but I also supplement with Italian herbs. In a pinch, you can use regular bread crumbs.)
• ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano
• ¼ teaspoon dried basil (You might want to add more of these herbs if you are using regular vs. Italian style bread crumbs.)
• Salt and pepper to taste (I actually use a Tuscany Blend of salt and pepper)
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

1. Slice eggplant into ¼ - ½ inch rounds and soak in salted water for at least 30 minutes to remove bitterness. (I tend more towards the ¼ inch slices. Any thicker and my husband won’t eat them.)
2. Preheat oven to 375F.
3. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together egg and a tablespoon of water.
5. In a shallow bowl, combine bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, herbs, and salt and pepper.
6. Dip eggplant slices in egg mixture allowing excess to drip off. Then dip in bread crumb mixture and coat well. (This can get really messy. I highly recommend removing any rings before performing this step – unless you’re a fan of bread crumb-caked jewelry.) Place eggplant slices on baking sheet.
7. Bake slices 20-25 minutes, until golden-brown on the bottom.
8. Flip slices and bake for another 20-25 minutes.
9. Remove cookie sheet and top each slice of eggplant with a sprinkling of shredded mozzarella. Return to the oven for approximately 5 minutes – until cheese is melted and bubbly.

I like to serve this with a side of pasta and top the whole dish with pasta sauce.

Good times!