Union City Eggplant Parmesan

One Pan to Rule Them All
By: Howie Southworth and Greg Matza
12/8/2024

This recipe was long waited for. I chose this cookbook after the last family dinner in the spring and picked the eggplant parmesan. When I chose this recipe, we did not know that this was going to be the last family dinner for a while. Let me tell you, the wait was worth it. This is one of my new favorite recipes and will make its way into my rotation of dinners.

Brian and I grabbed Charlotte and headed over to mama’s house around 6pm and George had already arrived. To start the evening, we all got a cocktail and gathered around the island to cook. As usual, Chris had a gin and tonic, Brian had a Manhattan, and I had gin and juice. Mom and George decided to mix it up tonight and made extra dry martinis.

As we all settled into our conversations, mom started cooking by prepping the bowls for dredging. One of my favorite rules is Rule 4: make it as it reads. This recipe called for little seasoning in the flour, eggs, and breadcrumbs. Normally we season these very heavily but, in this recipe, less is more. The flavors of the eggplant and the sauce really shine here. Chris breaded the eggplant and began to fry them. As Chris doesn’t particularly enjoy eggplant, cooking them was a new experience for him. Once they were done in the fryer, Chris layered them in the pan and let it cook in the oven.

Of course, the boys decided we couldn’t have a meal without protein, so we also made chicken parmesan using the same dredging recipe as the eggplant. Instead of layering the chicken, cheese and sauce in a skillet and baking after frying, we laid them on a cookie sheet covered with cheese and tossed them into the oven to roast the cheese until crispy.

The eggplant was finished first and once it was pulled out of the oven we dug in. The smell was so heavenly we couldn’t even wait to let it cool. The soft eggplant, the crispy crust, melted cheese, and savory sauce were the perfect blend. We paired the eggplant with some spaghetti made with the leftover sauce.

The taste of the eggplant brought us all back to earlier this year when we took our family trip to Tennessee. We had stopped at an antique tractor show in Townsend near our campground, at the back of the show there was a small trailer turned into a food truck. In the food truck, this sweet older lady gave us the whole story about how her family has made fried green tomatoes with the same recipe for generations. She was so sweet and welcoming; we ordered two orders of the tomatoes even though it was only 10am. They were by far some of the best fried green tomatoes I have come across. I only wish we had her information to find them again someday.

By the time the chicken parmesan came out of the oven, mama and I were already stuffed. Somehow Brian still had room for a whole chicken breast! George and I split one and mom stole a few bites here and there from the smallest chicken. The lightly seasoned breading on the chicken made it so the fresh mozzarella was the star of the duo. It was golden brown and bubbly with crispy edges.

Before everyone called it a night, it was George’s turn to pick a cookbook. After wandering the shelves, he picked an American book that I believe is from the 90s. No decision was made tonight on next week’s recipe so we will find out later this week what Sunday will bring us.

We stayed long enough to finish our drinks then hurried home to sink into a warm bed. Even Charlotte was ready to sleep.

Union City Eggplant Parmesan

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 Tbsp. water
1 cup breadcrumbs
1 ½ tsp salt
1 large globe eggplant, peeled and cut into ½ inch rounds
1-2 cups canola or vegetable oil
1 14 oz. can of tomatoes, whole, crushed, or pureed- OR 2 cups Sunday gravy from page 137
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
½ tsp black pepper
1 tsp dried oregano
1 lb. fresh mozzarella, cut into quarter inch slices
½ cup parmesan cheese, shredded or grated
2 Tbsp. basil, thinly sliced

Recipe:

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Using three shallow bowls, set up a dredging station. In the first bowl, place the flour. In the second bowl, whisk together the egg and water. In the third bowl, mix the breadcrumbs with one teaspoon of salt. Place a clean plate at the end of the dredging station. Dip one eggplant into the flour and shake off the excess. Then, dip the eggplant into the egg mixture and let excess drip away. Then, dip it into the breadcrumbs to coat and place on the plate. Repeat with the remainder of the eggplant and set the plate aside.

Pour oil in the skillet to about ½ inch in depth. Heat the oil to 375°F over medium heat. If you do not have a thermometer, one handy trick is to use a wooden chopstick, like the kind you get with Chinese take-out. As the oil heats, touch the tip of the chopstick to the bottom of the skillet at an angle. Once you see lots of bubbles forming around the entirety of the submerged chopstick, the oil is ready.

Prepare a wire rack over a baking sheet and place next to the stove. Carefully place a few coated eggplant rounds into the hot oil at a time, being sure not the overcrowd the skillet. Flip each round when the bottom has been fried to golden brown, about 1 ½- 2 minutes, the eggplant rounds are done and can be removed to the wire rack. Discard the oil and wipe out the skillet with a paper towel.

If you’re using Sunday gravy from page 137, skip this paragraph. In a blender or food processor, blend the tomatoes, olive oil, ½ teaspoon of salt, black pepper, and oregano until smooth.

Coat the bottom of the skillet with ½ cup of the tomato sauce. Form one layer of fried eggplant rounds on top of the tomato sauce. Spoon tomato sauce on top of each of the eggplant rounds, then top them with torn pieces of mozzarella slices, using about one- third of your mozzarella.

Form another layer of eggplant rounds on top of the first layer. Spoon tomato sauce on top of them. If you have additional eggplant rounds, form another layer of cheese, eggplant, and tomato sauce, but you’re likely to have just two. So, spoon the remainder of the sauce over the whole top of the skillet, then top with the remainder of the mozzarella, and finally sprinkle the skillet with parmesan cheese.

Roast in the oven for 45- 60 minutes, or until the top is bubbly and dark brown in spots. Serve with pasta, on a sandwich, or just a fork and a smile.

Up next: Summer Ratatouille