Chris Cuomo's Eggplant Parmigiana
Feb. 9, 2007 — -- Serves 8-10
Using a vegetable peeler, remove skin of eggplants in strips. Whole eggplant should looked "striped" when you are done. Slice eggplants into rounds that are 1/2 inch thick.
Place WONDRA flour in a medium-sized bowl, and set aside (this flour seals the eggplant during frying so that it stays firm). Mix eggs and water in a separate bowl. In a 9x13-inch glass dish or pie plate, combine bread crumbs, red pepper flakes, and coarse sea salt. Mix together to distribute ingredients.
Start breading procedure: Coat eggplant slices in flour first, then egg mixture, then into the bread crumb mixture. Use tongs to prevent your hands from getting coated. Continue this procedure until all slices are breaded.
Place olive oil in a 12-inch cast iron or other heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat. Fry breaded eggplant slices, 5 to 6 at a time, until golden brown. This should take 1 to 2 minutes on each side. Remove fried eggplant to a cookie sheet lined with paper towels to drain.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a 9x13-inch oven-proof dish, spread 1 cup of marinara sauce, to start the layering process. Arrange 1/3 of the eggplant slices on top of the sauce, then spread all of the ricotta cheese in a thin layer on top of the eggplant. Next, add 1 cup of grated mozzarella. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of Parmagiano Reggiano over mozzarella and layer with 6 fresh basil leaves, torn and distributed evenly. Repeat process two more times, excluding ricotta (for a total of 3 layers). Top the third layer with the remaining 2 cups of sauce and the sliced smoked mozzarella.
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