Candida's Eggplant Parmesan
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Ingredients
  • For Meat Sauce:
  • 1 medium onion, sliced
  • 1 clove garlic, chopped
  • 1 Tablespoon olive oil
  • 12 ounces lean boneless beef round steak, chopped
  • 1 can (28 ounces) Italian plum tomatoes, undrained, cut into pieces
  • ⅓ cup snipped parsley
  • ¼ cup water
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil leaves
  • ¾ teaspoon dried oregano leaves
  • ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • For Eggplant:
  • 3 pounds eggplant
  • Salt
  • Flour
  • ½ to ¾ cup olive oil
  • 1 pound mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
  • ¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
  1. For Meat Sauce:
  2. Cook and stir onion and garlic in oil in 2-quart saucepan over medium heat until tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Add beef; cook and stir until brown, about 3 minutes. Stir remaining sauce ingredients into beef mixture. Heat to boiling; reduce heat and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally until thickened, about 20 minutes. Pour half of sauce into blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Repeat with remaining sauce.
  3. Meanwhile, prepare eggplant:
  4. Pare eggplant and cut into lengthwise into ¼-inch slices. Layer slices in large shallow dish, sprinkling each layer generously with salt. Let stand uncovered at room temperature for 30 minutes. Rinse eggplant slices in cold water and drain on paper towels. Coat slices lightly with flour. Heat 1 Tablespoon of oil in large skillet over medium heat and cook slices, a few at a time, until golden, about 30 seconds per side, adding remaining oil as needed. Drain on paper towels. Layer ⅓ each of the eggplant slices, meat sauce, mozzarella slices, and Parmesan in a lightly oiled baking dish, 9-by-13-inches. Repeat layers twice ending with the Parmesan cheese. Heat oven to 350 degrees and bake uncovered until brown and sauce bubbles, about 35 minutes. Cool 10 minutes before serving; cut into squares. Serves 6 to 8.
Recipe by The Culinary Cellar at https://theculinarycellar.com/the-forty-year-recipe-search/