This Eggplant Parm is truly the best!

The best recipe that is not a recipe!

From: https://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/article/eggplant-parm-groat

You know those recipes we hold near and dear to our hearts because they are really the greatest ever of all time? Well, we’re using this series as an opportunity to wax poetic about them. The eggplant parm of test kitchen manager Brad Leone's mom, to be exact (he's been talking about it for months). They truly are the greatest recipe of all time (aka GROAT). Here’s why.

Mom’s eggplant parm is one of the best dishes I’ve ever had. It all starts with a homemade sauce; this step cannot be skipped. For Mich (that's my mom) it's olive oil, onion, garlic, and whole peeled tomatoes, likely a little basil, and maybe some dried oregano. Cook, cook, cook until the onions fall apart. Not too much onion, you're not making stew.

Next, she uses thick, peeled circles of eggplant, like ½–¾ inch thick. Spread the slices out in a single layer and sprinkle them with salt. This helps draw the water out of the eggplant and helps maintain a meaty consistency during and after frying. I like to be able to taste the eggplant and not just thin layers of breaded mystery.

From there, it's all about frying in olive oil in a cast iron pan that’s bigger than most dinner plates. The old egg-wash-and-breadcrumb combo (mom likes the fine stuff in the cardboard can) does the trick. I like a little black pepper in the egg but not sure how mom feels about that. After frying, drain the eggplant on paper towels to help absorb some of the extra oil that it soaked up. This is super important: eggplant can act like a sponge and soak up whatever you put it in, especially oil.

Now, I prefer the Parm layered in a rectangular baking dish, like a 9 x 13. Put a little sauce on the bottom first, then a layer of eggplant, then freshly grated mozzarella cheese and a little grated Parm. Season with salt and pepper then add another layer of sauce. Repeat until you're out of space or eggplant. It’s a nice idea to use block mozzarella grated in between the layers and then use fresh mozzarella on top for melting and browning. Then bake at 375˚ for about 45 minutes—you may need to broil the top for a minute or two to get the cheese bubbly and golden.

The big secret about this dish is to wait before serving, when it's barely warm or even at room temp. The family’s favorite way to eat eggplant Parm, though, is to eat it ice cold right from the fridge. Wanna top that? Place the cold eggplant parm on some warm crusty bread, sandwich style or open-faced. Cold eggplant Parm is certainly on the top five most satisfying and comforting foods known to man, it’s a fact**.

**As a Test Kitchen, we ate three trays of eggplant parm in less than 36 hours. It. Is. That. Good. So do like Brad says and "Make this dish times two."