Servings: 6

Prep Time: 60 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 40 minutes

Japanese eggplant are easy to grow in your garden and lovely to cook with. I find Japanese eggplant to be more tender and tasty compared to traditional eggplant.  However, due to the shape of the eggplant you do need to work with it a little differently.  I decided to make a Japanese Eggplant Parmesan that is a little different from your traditional saucy and cheesy eggplant parm.  There is no frying and the recipe uses an amazing dollop of stracciatella cheese prior to serving!

Ingredients:

• 6 Japanese eggplant, cut lengthwise
• 3 large tomatoes
• ¼ cup of extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 5 cloves of garlic
• 2 cups panko breadcrumbs
• 4 ounces shredded parmesan cheese
• ¼ cup fresh basil

Steps:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
2. Cut the eggplant in half, length-wise.
3. Place the eggplant cut size up on a baking dish. Brush with a thin coat of olive oil.
4. Score your eggplant, meaning cut 3-4 slices into the flesh of each in order to help ensure even baking.
5. Bake the eggplant for 20-25 minutes until lightly browned and softened.
6. Meanwhile, combine panko bread crumbs, chopped garlic, olive oil, and chopped basil in a large bowl.  Mix until well combined.
7. Once your eggplant has baked, remove it from the oven. Place your cooked eggplant tightly together on the bottom of the baking pan in order to create a base layer of eggplant. 
8. Layer sliced, fresh tomatoes on top of the eggplant.  Follow that with your panko mixture.
9. Lastly, sprinkle the shredded parmesan on top. 
10. Bake your eggplant for another 12-15 minutes until the parmesan is melted.
11. Serve your eggplant with a dollop of stracciatella cheese and fresh basil on top.