2 for 1 Italian Special

(This post brought to you by Jen)

Recently, Marc and I made some sauce for baked ziti to give to a friends.  As it normally goes with us, we make a lot more than we need.  We gave 2 quarts to our friends, and saved 2 for ourselves.  (We typically save won-ton soup containers from Chinese take-out to store our sauce in.)  What to do with this leftover sauce?  Well, Marc has been wanting eggplant parmesan for some time now, and I thought that since we had some chicken breasts in the fridge, why wouldn't we just make chicken parmesan as well?  Genius idea!  Marc and I tag-teamed the cooking of these dishes, and here they are!

Hardware Needed:
Dredging station (the one pictured was purchased from a Pampered Chef catalog, but 3 big bowls work just as well)
Foil lined sheet pan with wire rack for draining/resting
12 inch frying pan (we used cast iron)
Ceramic Dutch oven (or any other oven safe bakeware with tall sides)

Ingredients:
2 eggplants, peeled and sliced into 1/2 inch rounds
3 chicken breasts
2 cups flour
4 eggs
2 cups seasoned breadcrumbs
1 quart of your favorite pasta sauce (maybe one day I will share how to make mine...)
Mozzerella cheese
Parmesan cheese
Vegetable Oil for frying
Salt and Pepper
Garlic powder

Ahead of time, you will want to prep your eggplant.  After you peel and slice it, lightly salt both sides and place on a dish.  Let sit for at least 30 minutes.  You will notice that the eggplant has released some moisture.  Pat pieces down with paper towels and you are ready to start dredging.  In addition to releasing some moisture from the eggplant, it also helps season and remove some of the bitterness. 

Eggplant after being salted.

While the eggplant is being salted, I set up my dredging station.  I season the flour with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  The eggs are seasoned with salt and pepper as well.  The breadcrumbs used in today's meal were seasoned Italian breadcrumbs that you can purchase as your favorite supermarket (which better be Wegmans).  We never just leave the breadcrumbs as is though, those got a dose of garlic powder and parmesan cheese.  Stir together all ingredients in each bowl to combine.  Whisk eggs thoroughly. 

Dredging station

I always make an assembly line out of my dredging station.  On the far right is my ingredient to be dredged (eggplant), then flour, eggs, breadcrumbs, and a plate to stash the prepared ingredient. 

An assembly line makes this easy!  And it keeps you well organized.

Coat each side of the eggplant evenly with each component. 

Eggplant taking a stroll through the dredging station.

Ready to be fried!

As I continue making sure all the eggplant is breaded, Marc started up the cast iron frying pan over medium high heat.  I can't tell you exactly how much oil was used, but it was about half the height of the eggplant slices.  Fry the eggplant on each side until golden (about 2-3 minutes per side). 

Egplant going for a dip in the oil.

Remove to your prepared draining rack and season lightly with salt.  You will want to work in batches of 4-5 eggplant at a time, depending on how much fits in your pan.

Repeat this process with the chicken.  First, bread them using your assembly line.

Chicken in the assembly line breading station.

This time, since it is chicken, you will need to fry it longer.  Approximately 5-7 minutes per side (depending on how hot your oil is) until golden.  Remove to the draining rack and lightly season with salt.

Draining rack with all the goodness on it.

In your ceramic dutch oven, place a layer of sauce, followed by eggplant, mozzerella cheese, parmesan, and sauce.  Repeat this process until all eggplant has been used.  The very top layer should be mozzerella and parmesan.

Layered pan

Cover the pan and place in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes.  After 20 minutes is up, remove lid and let cook for an additional 10 minutes.  Remove from oven, let rest for 10 minutes and serve.

Ready to be plated up!

As the eggplant is in the oven, spoon a thin layer of sauce over the chicken.  Follow this with some mozzerella and parmesan cheese.  Place it in the oven when you remove the lid from the eggplant.  Remove it at the same time as the eggplant.

The cheese is wonderfully melted after 10 minutes in the oven.

Give this recipe a try, let us know what you think.

Enjoy!