Ingredients
Scale
- 2 pounds Japanese eggplants
- olive oil or avocado oil for pan frying the eggplant
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 Teaspoon sea salt
- 1 1/2 cups almond flour
- 3/4 cup grated parmesan
- 1 Teaspoon sea salt
- 10 ounces fresh mozzarella
- 2 cups Homemade Marinara Sauce
- Freshly cut basil to taste – 1/2 cup chopped
Instructions
- Start by making a batch of marinara sauce if you don’t have any already made. I try to keep 2 cup packages in my freezer to make mealtimes simpler.
- Cut both ends off each eggplant and slice into 3/4″ rounds.
- Preheat a large cast iron skillet over medium heat.
- While the skillet heats, beat the 2 eggs and 1/4 Teaspoon sea salt together in a bowl plate. In another bowl plate, combine the almond flour, grated parmesan, and 1 Teaspoon of sea salt called for.
- Add a small amount of olive oil or avocado oil to the skillet – just enough to coat the bottom.
- Preheat the oven to 450ºF.
- Dip slices of eggplant first in the egg mixture, and secondly in the almond flour mixture. Place them in the frying pan and fry for a couple minutes per side – or until golden brown.
- When the eggplant slices are done, remove them to a parchment lined baking sheet – you’ll fill 2 baking sheets by the end of the frying process.
- Continue the process of dipping the eggplant slices and frying, adding more cooking oil as you go, until you’re all out of eggplant. Sometimes if I’m heavy handed in the the breading process, the almond flour runs out before I’ve fried everything. Instead of making more, I just fry the last couple slices of eggplant plain without breading them. It’s really important to keep the pan over medium heat – higher heat will burn the crumbs at the bottom of the pan.
- Cut or tear the fresh mozzarella into small pieces and place them evenly over the surface of the eggplant being sure to leave plenty crispy crust showing.
- Bake for 10 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbling and just starting to brown.
- Serve immediately with the marinara sauce and fresh basil.
Notes
Fresh mozzarella weighs quite a bit more, (due to it’s high moisture content) than the harder, brick type of mozzarella. If you can’t find fresh mozzarella, use regular grated mozzarella – but just to taste because the 10 ounces called for in the recipe would be way too much if it’s not fresh mozzarella!
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins