Individual Fried Eggplant Parmesans

Remember my poor eggplant plant, that sat and never did anything all summer? He got a fruit! So exciting. It's covered in flowers now, too, but I imagine it's a little late in the year for them to become much. Ah well, the Japanese eggplants are still kickin' out fruit right and left.

I was so excited to finally get one, that I wanted to make something with it immediately. I love me some eggplant parm, but it's pretty heavy, and takes a good amount of time to prep and assemble. The kids hate eggplant, so I needed a dinner that would make everyone happy, ie., no mixing it into anything. Enter, personal eggplant parmesans with pasta.

I love walking outside to pick dinner. In October!
So I sliced that bad boy up and got to work.

I know a lot of people salt and drain their eggplant, but I've never found the extra work/time to be worth it. Especially from a homegrown fruit. So I just dunked them in some egg mixed with a little water, then dredged them in a mixture of bread crumbs, panko, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Then you just pan fry them in some olive oil until they're crispy and browned. The little Japanese eggplants are DELICIOUS just like that. Eat 'em hot and they're like little bites of heaven.
As each batch finished frying, I put them on a rack over a cookie sheet in a warm oven to drain, and so they'd stay crispy.
I had a jar of homemade sauce in the freezer from my plethora of garden tomatoes, but any marinara will do. Put a little dollop right in the middle of each round.

Then sprinkle on some grated mozzarella.

Okay, these pictures are makin' me hungry.

Then you just pop everyone back in the oven to melt the cheese.

Holy lord they're good like this. Crispy and cheesy on the outside, soft on the inside. They practically melt in your mouth.

To go with, I just cooked up some spaghetti noodles, threw the remaining sauce up on top, sliced up those cucumbers, and piled a ton of fresh basil and Parmesan cheese on everyone. Add a loaf of yummy bread and dinner is served. So. Flippin'. Good.
Here's dinner on my plate:

That is heaven right there, kids. Food heaven.

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