Eggplant Parmesan Recipe (Light!)

The Happy Birthday Eggplant Parmesan

In honor of my dear friend Laura’s birthday, I am making one of her favorite dishes: eggplant parmesan.  In honor of my waist line, I am making it light.  Eggplant parmesan done light and done right (right being the operative word – you must use whole wheat panko as other breadcrumbs become soggy), can be absolutely delicious – you won’t even miss all of those pesky calories. I found this recipe at: www.myrecipes.com. 

Eggplant Parmesan (done light!)
Serves 10 people

Ingredients:
Eggplant preparation:

• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon water
• 2 cups whole-wheat panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
• 1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmigiano cheese
• 2 (1 lb) eggplants, peeled and cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices
• Cooking spray

Filling:

• 1/2 cup torn fresh basil
• 1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmigiano cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 (16 ounce) container part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten

Remaining ingredients:

• 1 (24 ounce) jar premium pasta sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 8 ounces thinly sliced mozzarella cheese
• 3/4 cup (3 ounces) finely  grated fontina cheese

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 375
2. To make eggplant, combine 2 eggs and 1 tablespoon water in a shallow dish.  Combine panko and 1/4 of the Parmigiano cheese in a second shallow dish.  Dip eggplant in egg mixture; dredge in panko mixture pressing gently to adhere and shaking off excess. Place eggplant 1 inch apart on baking sheets coated with cooking spray.  Bake at 375 for 30 minutes or until golden turning once and rotating baking sheets after fifteen minutes.
3. To make filling, combine basil and next 6 ingredients (through egg).
4. To assemble, spoon 1/2 cup pasta sauce in bottom of a 13 x 9-inch glass baking dish coated with cooking spray.
5. Layer half of eggplant splices over pasta sauce. Sprinkle eggplant with 1/8 teaspoon of salt.  toop with about 3/4 cup of pasta sauce; spread ricotta mixture over sauce and top with a third of the mozzarella and 1/4 cup of the fontina.  Repeat layer (but without ricotta) ending with about 1 cup of pasta sauce.  Cover tightly with alumina foil coated in cooking spray.  Bake at 375 for 35 minutes.  Remove foil; top with remaining third of mozzarella and 1/4 cup of fontina.  Bake at 375 for 10 minutes more or until sauce in bubbly and cheese melts; cool 10 minutes.

Nutritional Information:
Amount per serving
Calories: 318
Fat: 15.1g
Saturated fat:  8.2g
Monounsaturated fat:  2.7g
Polyunsaturated fat. 0.6g
Protein:  19.2g
Carbohydrate:  26.8g
Fiber: 4.8g
Cholesterol: 99mg
Iron: 1.6mg
Sodium: 655mg
Calcium: 365mg

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