Eggplant Parmesan Pizza

For the pizza sauce: Mix together sauce ingredients until combined well and set aside. Leftovers can be frozen in an airtight container for future use.

For the eggplant: Preheat oven to 400º F. I place my pizza stone on the bottom rack and allow it to begin heating up. Coat the bottom of a sheet pan with the canola oil.

Placed cubed eggplant into a colander and sprinkle with salt (toss to coat well). Allow to rest for 5 minutes. Sprinkle flour over eggplant, one tablespoon at a time, and toss until coated.

In a medium bowl, beat the egg and egg whites. Add the eggplant to the egg wash and gently toss until coated. Remove, making sure to shake off any excess egg wash.

In a third bowl, mix together eggplant coating ingredients (Panko, bread crumbs, garlic powder, pepper, and dried basil). Add the eggplant that has been coated in egg wash and gently toss until coated. Pour entire contents of bowl onto baking sheet and spread into one even layer (make sure none of the eggplant are overlapping).

Bake for 20-25 minutes, flipping halfway through. Eggplant should be nice and crisp, and beginning to brown. Remove from oven and set aside.

For the pizza: Move pizza stone to middle rack and turn heat up to 450ºF. Roll out or hand toss the pizza dough (we hand tossed it to make a nice thick crust). Sprinkle some corn meal onto pizza stone right before putting dough on it (this helps prevent sticking). Poke the center of the pizza dough with a fork to prevent it from bubbling up. Close oven and bake dough for 3-5 minutes. Remove dough from oven with a pizza peel. (It should be firm and puffy, but not browning.)

Add desired amount of pizza sauce (I used about 3/4 cup of the above-mentioned recipe). Next, add cheeses and eggplant. Bake for another 5-7 minutes. Last, turn oven on broil and allow crust to brown (only about a minute or so). Keep a close eye on it while it is broiling! Remove from oven, sprinkle with fresh basil and crushed red pepper, slice with a pizza wheel, and serve.