Friday, February 29, 2008

Baked Eggplant Romano


Baked Eggplant Romano

1 1/2 cups bread crumbs
1/3 cup Romano cheese
2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
2 medium eggplants
3 large egg whites, lightly beaten
2 tbsp skim milk
1 jar tomato sauce, low sodium and low fat
2 cups part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded


1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Combine bread crumbs, Romano cheese, Italian seasoning, garlic powder and onion powder together in a medium-size bowl; set aside. Remove skin from eggplant and remove the ends. Slice eggplant into 1/2-inch-thick slices.
3. Whisk together eggwhites and milk. Dip eggplant slices into eggwhite mixture and then into bread crumb mixture. Bake eggplant on a nonstick cookie sheet until lightly browned, about 20 minutes, turning over at the halfway point.
4. In a 9x13 inch baking dish, spread 1/2 cup of the tomato sauce. Place a layer of eggplant on bottom, then add 1/3 of the remaining tomato sauce and 1/3 of mozzarella cheese. Repeat with 2 more layers in same order. Bake until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbling, about 15 minutes more. Let set for about 5 minutes before serving.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Tried this recipe once and loved it, then my oven died... Did that stop me. Of course not! I just modified it for the BBQ. Perfect for Father's day. Think Dad will be impressed? Other modifications were just because I didn't have something....
Emm

Baked Eggplant Romano

1 1/2 cups croissant crumbs
1/3 cup Peccarino Romano sheep cheese (Costco)
2 tsp Italian seasoning
4 crushed cloves of garlic
1/3 cup coarsely chopped onion
2 medium eggplants
3 large egg whites, lightly beaten
2 tbsp skim milk
8oz spaghetti sauce
2 cups shredded sheep or cow mozzarella


1. Preheat the BBQ to 350°F.
2. Combine bread crumbs, Romano cheese, Italian seasoning, garlic powder and onion powder together in a medium-size bowl; set aside. Remove skin from eggplant and remove the ends. Slice eggplant into 1/2-inch-thick slices, place into a colander and lightly salt, let sit 30 minutes. Rinse and pat dry.
3. Whisk together eggwhites and milk. Dip eggplant slices into eggwhite mixture and then into bread crumb mixture. Bake eggplant in a small (6-8qt) cast iron Dutch oven until lightly browned, about 20 minutes, turning over at the halfway point.
4. Ladle 1/2 cup of the tomato sauce into the Dutch oven, lifting the eggplant to place back on top of the layer. Add 1/3 of the remaining tomato sauce and 1/3 of mozzarella cheese. Repeat with 2 more layers in same order. Bake until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbling, about 15-30 minutes more depending on the weather and BBQ temperature. Let set for about 5 minutes before serving.