Inspired by farmer's-market trip, Eggplant Parmesan is wonderful meal

Time for a farmer’s market trip; we arrived home with some lovely eggplant, among some other items.

I wasn’t just spilling over with recipes for fresh eggplant, but an Internet search turned up more than 250 of them from allrecipes.com

This one for Eggplant Parmesan with Easy Homemade Sauce made a delicious meal. I’m glad it yielded bunches so we have plenty left over for tonight.

It directed me to peel the eggplant and slice it into 1/2-inch rounds. A simple breading (which I made by blender-whisking pieces of wheat bread and Italian seasoning) coated the slices after they were brushed with olive oil. A quick homemade tomato sauce went over the breaded slices as they were baked in the oven with Parmesan and mozzarella cheese on top. I boiled a handful of eggless noodles to serve with the eggplant/tomato dish.

I didn’t have worlds of time to get dinner on the table, so I was glad this stirred up rather quickly. A great selection with our fresh-from-the-garden eggplant.

Eggplant Parmesan with Easy Homemade Sauce

1/2 cup Italian-seasoned bread crumbs

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 pinch red pepper flakes, or to taste

1 eggplant, trimmed, peeled, and sliced 1/2-inch thick

1/2 cup olive oil

1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste

1 1/2 (6-ounce) cans water

1/4 teaspoon dried basil

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon dried parsley

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 teaspoon brown sugar

sea salt and ground black pepper to taste

1 (8-ounce) package fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced

3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease an 8-inch-by-14-inch baking dish. In a shallow bowl mix seasoned bread crumbs, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, and red pepper flakes. Brush eggplant sliced with olive oil; press into bread-crumb mixture to coat. Lay slices onto a baking sheet; bake in the preheated oven until browned and tender (about 15 minutes). Remove eggplant; reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees. In a saucepan whisk tomato paste and water; place over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Stir in basil, oregano, parsley, garlic, brown sugar, sea salt, and black pepper. Place eggplant slices into prepared baking dish; overlap the slices. Spoon tomato sauce over eggplant; top with mozzarella cheese and 3/4 cup Parmesan. Bake in the preheated oven until cheese is melted, about 15 minutes. If desired broil for 1 to 2 more minutes to give the cheese topping a golden color. Let stand for 5 minutes before you serve. Makes 6 servings. (Source: www.allrecipes.com)