Epplant Mozzarella Melts

Justin and I aren't generally crazy about eggplant. But I found a recipe in my Robin Miller cookbook that sounded good. I tried it out last night. I really liked it. It definitely doesn't taste like eggplant :P Justin was fine with it too. It was really easy to make. But it dirtied a lot of dishes and took a little time to prep. I'll make it again sometime, but it won't be a regular meal for us. I had some leftover meatsauce that I served with it. That was good on top of the eggplant. But it was also good without any sauce.

Eggplant Mozzarella Melts

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1 cup milk

1 egg

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1 cup seasoned bread crumbs (I used a mix of plain, seasoned whole wheat and panko)

1 large eggplant, peeled, sliced in 1/4" rounds

1 Tbsp. EVOO

1 cup shredded mozzarella (I used some shredded and some chunks of fresh)

2 Tbsp. grated parmesan

Heat oven to 400. Coat large baking sheet with cooking spray.

Combine the flour, salt and pepper in a shallow dish. Whisk the egg, milk and garlic powder in separate shallow dish. Place the bread crumbs on a large plate. Dip the eggplant slices one at a time into the flour and turn to coat. Transfer to the milk mixture. Transfer to the bread crumbs and turn to coat. Set on a platter.

Heat oil in a large skillet over med-high heat. Add the eggplant slices several at a time and cook until golden brown, about 2 min. per side (I did mine longer...like 3-4 min. per side). Transfer slices to paper towels to drain (I didn't do this. They weren't oily at all...didn't use much oil. I just put them right on the baking sheet).

Transfer the eggplant to the baking pan in a single layer. Evenly sprinkle the mozzarella and Parmesan over top. Bake until the cheese is golden and bubbly, about 10 min. (I did 15 min. to be sure the eggplant was cooked through). Let rest a few minutes before serving.

Serves 4