Eggplant Parmesan Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the trick to cooking eggplant? ›

Slice your eggplant with the skin on (this will help it keep its shape). Brush it lightly with oil. Grill over a hot flame until the flesh is tender and you have beautiful char marks, about 5 minutes per side.

Modern eggplant has had bitterness nearly bred out of it, so many cooks have given up the practice. Salting the slices for eggplant Parmesan is not to prevent bitter flavors, but to season the eggplant itself and, at least in my experience, keep the eggplant from sucking up too much of the olive oil from frying.

Eggplant contains a lot of water, so it's no wonder it can become soggy. Baking this eggplant parmesan dish uncovered allows moisture to escape so the final dish won't be too water-logged.

Depending on variety and size, and how they are cut, eggplants take 15 to 25 minutes to fully cook. Undercook them and you'll be left with a bitter-tasting veggie that has the texture of a cotton ball, says Norton. "Most recipes can accurately predict how much time it will take for eggplants to fully cook.

Toss the cubes or slices with the salt, and let them rest for 30 minutes, or until you see moisture beading up on the surface. Then, rinse off the salt under running water for 1 minute, and press the eggplant dry between 2 paper towels.

Salting the eggplant before cooking draws out excess moisture so the eggplant has a stronger flavor and a softer, more tender texture. Less water = more flavor. Does eggplant need to be salted? Eggplant does not necessarily need to be salted, but some recipes benefit from the process.

To me, the very best eggplant Parmesan is packed with silky layers of eggplant, a sweet and savory homemade tomato sauce, and enough melty cheese to get that quintessential cheese pull but not too much that it weighs the whole thing down. It should be decadent but not greasy, saucy but not soggy.

The peel of an eggplant is completely edible. However, as the eggplant grows bigger and matures, the peel may become tough and bitter. People often prefer to peel larger eggplants because of this, but smaller eggplants do just fine unpeeled. It ends up being a matter of personal preference.

The secret to great eggplant parmesan

And that is to eliminate entirely the breading step of the recipe you are most likely in possession of. Adding the breading means the eggplant slices spend too much time in the oil during browning and provide extra places for that oil to get sucked up.

Can I assemble eggplant parm the day before? ›

Making them fresh will help keep the herbs vibrant. (The whole dish can be assembled and cooked two days before you want to dig in—make room for the casserole dish in the fridge and reheat when ready.)

The other trick for perfect roasted eggplant? Cooking it at a high temperature (425 F / 218 C) for enough time (25-30 minutes) to give it a browned exterior and tender interior.

Older recipes call for salting eggplant to draw out the bitter juices, but today's eggplants are less bitter (unless very large), so salting is largely unnecessary. It will, however, help the spongy flesh absorb less oil and crisp up like a dream.

I tend to soak the slices in a bowl of water with a couple of tablespoon of salt for about 30-45 minutes. It doesn't have to do with bitterness, but I find that in doing this, the fried eggplant turns out less greasy," Jenkins says.

Fried or baked eggplant is delicious, but they are not the only ways to cook eggplant. Try it sautéed, stir-fried, grilled, or broiled.