We call this dish Sunday Eggplant Parmesan in our house, and it is really something special. I only make it once, maybe twice a year, but it’s always worth the effort. Thin, crispy strips of fried eggplant, lightly covered in marinara sauce, and served over bucatini pasta dressed in a savory mushroom and sundried tomato cream sauce? Yes please! I hope this is a recipe that you will continue to turn to when there is cause to celebrate.
The individual steps in this recipe are relatively simple. There are just a lot of them. As such, this is usually reserved for special occasions like birthdays, anniversaries, etc., and we typically make it on a Sunday (hence the name) when we have more free time. If you bear with me, I promise that it’s absolutely worth it. This is one of our family favorites, and I am so excited to share it with you! Let’s dig in.
Inspiration
My wife and I had a similar dish several years ago at Strada Italiano in Asheville, NC. It was on special at the time, and we absolutely fell in love with it. I even asked the waitress a ton of questions about how they made the dish, and the kitchen staff was more than happy to give advice and hints on how to make it at home. I don’t believe this version is currently on the menu (January 2023), but I encourage you to pay them a visit if you are in the area.
At first glance, you’ll notice that this recipe is fairly different from most other eggplant parmesan recipes.
No mozzarella?! – Yep! It’s eggplant PARMESAN, not eggplant mozzarella, after all.
Mushroom and sundried tomato cream sauce?? – Absolutely!
Aren’t you supposed to bake eggplant parmesan? – Don’t have to.
It has all of the parts of traditional eggplant parmesan – just with a slight twist. Honestly, after having this version, I think it might be difficult to go back to the traditional dish.
The Eggplant
The foundation of this recipe is obvious: the eggplant. I knew I wanted it to be extra thin and super crispy. I also didn’t want to be pulling out long strands of eggplant peel from the breading when trying to cut or eat it. Here are the ways that I went about avoiding those issues:
- First: Peel the eggplant. This leaves only the flesh and no tough peel to deal with while you’re trying to cut or bite through it.
- Second: Slice the eggplant from top to bottom as thinly as possible (not across). You will end up with several ¼- to ½-inch-thick strips versus a multitude of rounds. The slices are more even, and there are fewer pieces to dredge, bread, and fry. Win-win!
- Third: Lay the eggplant in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and moderately cover with kosher salt on both sides. Let them rest for 30 minutes (at minimum – an hour is ideal) to draw out excess moisture. I use a kitchen towel and squeeze the extra liquid out after resting. The liquid you are removing can be bitter, and they dryer the eggplant is, the crispier it will fry.
Once the eggplant has been dried, it’s a simple process of dipping each slice in an egg wash, dredging in breadcrumbs, and pan frying in batches. You could possibly bake the eggplant on sheet trays, but I’ve never taken that approach. Let me know in the comments if you have a good solution for baking instead of frying! I would love to hear any and all solutions.
The Sauces
There are two sauces in this recipe, right? The marinara and the cream sauce, obviously.
Would you believe me if I told you that’s not exactly true?
The cream sauce has pesto as an ingredient, which technically makes three sauces in this recipe (Like I said earlier, bear with me here).
While I strongly recommend making your own sauces for this recipe, it can be a bit daunting to make all three on the same day. If you plan on making all of the sauces, I recommend making the marinara and the pesto sauces the day before. Both sauces actually taste better after an overnight rest, and it frees up time to focus on the main parts of the recipe. Another option is to use store-bought marinara and pesto sauces. This could be ideal if you are entertaining a crowd or if time is an issue.
Please check out the separate posts linked below for my Easy Marinara Sauce and Fresh Homemade Pesto if you are interested in making your own sauces.
The real dark horse of this recipe is the mushroom and sundried tomato cream sauce. It really sets the tone for the dish. It is the perfect canvas to balance out the fresh tomato sauce and the crispy, earthy eggplant.
The brightness of the marinara and the crispiness of the eggplant work so well to balance out the richness of the cream sauce. I toss the pasta directly in the cream sauce right before plating. Any spaghetti-style noodle will work, but I prefer bucatini. For those unfamiliar with bucatini (get it here), it’s a thicker spaghetti noodle with a small hole running down the middle of it. It provides an excellent texture, and is my absolute favorite pasta! The restaurant version of this dish used bucatini, so it remains my pasta of choice with this recipe. If you can’t find bucatini, linguini would be a good substitute, as it provides a similar texture.
Assembly and Serving
Assembly and plating are a breeze when all of your components are finished. Take the cooked noodles, toss them in the mushroom cream sauce, pile some on your plate, add a small spoonful of marina on top, then add two pieces of your fried eggplant, and serve. Add extra marinara on top if desired. I like to give everything a quick sprinkle of minced parsley for a pop of color.
Serving with a homemade Caesar salad and a glass of Chianti or Montepulciano d’Abruzzo are the perfect finishing touches. A Cabernet or a Malbec may be a touch strong to pair with this dish, but they would be solid secondary wine pairings.
Did you make this recipe for Sunday Eggplant Parmesan?
Let me know in the comments below how yours turned out, and don’t forget to leave a rating!
Recipe
Sunday Eggplant Parmesan
Ingredients
Eggplant
- 1 Medium Eggplant Approx. 1 lb., 2 oz., peeled and thinly sliced, about ¼” thick, from top to bottom (not across)
- Kosher Salt
- Neutral Oil
- 3 Eggs Beaten
- 2-3 C Breadcrumbs/Panko/Cornflake Crumbs
- ¼ C Parmesan Grated
- 1 C Marinara Sauce
- ⅓ C Parmesan or Pecorino Romano Grated
Mushroom and Sundried Tomato Cream Sauce
- 2 tablespoon Neutral Oil
- 2 Shallots Finely Minced
- ⅓ Cup Julienned Sun-Dried Tomatoes Rough chopped (reserving 1 Tbsp. of the packing oil)
- 8 oz. Cremini Mushrooms Thinly Sliced
- 4 oz. Fresh Spinach About 2 -3 handfuls, Rough Chopped
- 4 tablespoon Pesto
- 2 Cups Heavy Cream
- 1 Cup Dry White Wine
- 2 Cup Parmesan Grated
- 4 tablespoon Unsalted Butter
- Salt & pepper to taste
Pasta
- 1 lb. Bucatini Pasta Cooked according to package directions (Spaghetti or linguini are good substitutes)
Instructions
Eggplant
- Peel and slice one eggplant, top to bottom (not across), as thinly as possible. The slices will be about ¼ to ½-inch thick. Place on a wire rack over a rimmed baking sheet and moderately cover both sides with kosher salt. Let rest for 30-minutes to 1-hour to draw out excess moisture. Squeeze the remaining moisture out with a kitchen towel or paper towel.
- While eggplant is resting, prepare the dredging station. Mix breadcrumbs, several pinches of kosher salt and grated parmesan in a wide, shallow bowl or small casserole dish. Beat the eggs in a similar sized dish.
- Preheat a heavy bottomed skillet over medium heat and add enough oil to cover ⅛ to ¼-inch of the pan. Using the dry hand, wet hand method, dredge the eggplant slices in the egg wash, then press into the breadcrumbs to coat evenly. Add the breaded eggplant in batches to the skillet and fry for approx. 5 minutes on each side until golden brown. Remove to a wire rack on a rimmed baking sheet and salt immediately. Allow to cool.
- Once cool, spoon a few teaspoons of marinara sauce over each slice of eggplant, and cover with the grated pecorino romano cheese. Place eggplant under a broiler on low for 2 to 3 minutes until cheese is melted. Transfer eggplant to a 200*F oven to keep warm while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
Mushroom and Sundried Tomato Cream Sauce
- Heat a large, heavy bottomed skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to the pan and add the sliced mushrooms in a single layer. Sear and leave undisturbed for several minutes until some color begins to form. Flip and sear an additional minute. Add the shallots to the pan and sauté for an additional 2 – 3 minutes, stirring until soft. Add the sun dried tomatoes and the packing oil to the pan, and stir. Add the spinach and cook for 2 minutes until wilted. Deglaze the pan with the white wine, scraping the pan with a wooden spoon. Bring to a boil and simmer until reduced by about 25%, approximately 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and add the pesto and heavy cream, stirring to incorporate. Add the parmesan cheese a handful at a time, stirring and melting in between additions. Finish the sauce by adding the unsalted butter and simmering for an additional 1 – 2 minutes. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as needed.
- Cook pasta according to package directions. Add the pasta to the mushroom cream sauce and stir to coat evenly.
Assembly And Plating
- Using tongs, add the pasta with cream sauce to a plate. Place a teaspoon or two of the marinara sauce on the top of the noodles, and then add two pieces of the fried eggplant on top. Sprinkle with minced parsley and serve warm.
Comments
No Comments