Eggplant Parmesan with Roasted Cherry Tomato Sauce

Slice the eggplant into 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick slices. Cover a baking sheet with paper towels. Lay the sliced eggplant on the paper towels and sprinkle both sides of the eggplant with salt. Cover the eggplant and let it rest for 30 minutes. This prevents the eggplant from being slimy and bitter.

Preheat the oven to 375°F and prepare the tomatoes when the eggplant has been sitting for about 15 minutes. To prepare the tomato sauce, cut the cherry tomatoes in half and mix with the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper. Place the tomatoes in a glass baking dish in a single layer (I used my glass pie dish) along with the vinaigrette mixture and the garlic cloves. Roast the tomatoes in the preheated oven for 40 minutes. They will start to burst and caramelize when they are done.

After the eggplant has rested, set up three stations to batter the eggplant: a plate of cornstarch, a bowl of egg that has been lightly beaten, and a plate of Italian breadcrumbs. Coat the eggplant slices on both sides with cornstarch, then egg, and then breadcrumbs.

In a medium-large frying pan, heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat. Cook the eggplant in the heated oil for 4 minutes per side or until the crumbs are browned. Add more olive oil if necessary. Remove the cooked eggplant to a paper towel lined plate to drain and repeat with remaining eggplant.

Serve the eggplant slices and roasted tomato sauce. Shave Parmesan cheese over the dish.

I served my eggplant parmesan with zucchini pasta. See ASweetPeaChef’s TastyKitchen recipe box to see how to make zucchini pasta! It is delicious.