As I mentioned other times, the squirrels really don’t like eggplant… I had a ton of little ones and i wanted to try this recipe even even it was a little weird!
I had also stewed my own tomatoes earlier in the day, so i was going to just make my own sauce, a little differently
Delicious Tonight – Eggplant Parmigiana Boats – Cook the cook book
November 4, 2025
Category
Uncategorized
Veggies
Prep Time
1 hour
Cook Time
45 minutes
Wait Time
30 minutes
Total Time
1 hour, 45 minutes
Ingredients
Eggplant
- 2 x 14 oz. eggplants – 4 japanese eggplant
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 1 Tbsp olive oil, plus extra to serve
Crunchy topping
- ⅓ cup panko bread crumbs
- ⅛ tsp kosher salt
- 1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Cheese
- 4 oz mozzarella, shredded
- 2 oz parmesan, grated using a box grater (see note)
Sugo (tomato sauce)
- 1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves, finely minced
- 1.5 cups tomato sauce
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- ¼ cup basil leaves, plus extra to serve (recommended but
- not critical)
Instructions
Sweat eggplants:
- Cut each eggplant in half lengthwise, then use a small sharp knife to score ¾ inch diamonds in the flesh—take care to not cut through the skin.
- Rub the flesh of each eggplant with the salt, opening the cuts to get a bit of salt into the crevices. Set aside for 30 minutes, then squeeze gently like a sponge to remove any excess water. (See note 3 to skip the salting.)
Make toppings:
- Mix the crunchy topping ingredients in a bowl. Mix together the shredded cheeses in another bowl.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Bake eggplant:
- Place the eggplant in a baking pan, flesh-side up. Pat the flesh dry using paper towels.
- Drizzle with the oil, then bake for 30 minutes or until the flesh is soft (larger and older eggplants will take longer).
Make sauce:
- Meanwhile, heat the sauce over medium heat.
- Add the garlic.
- Add the remaining sauce ingredients, then stir and bring to a simmer.
- Reduce the heat to medium–low and cook, stirring regularly, for 15-20 minutes,
- Halfway through, taste the sauce and, if it seems sour, add the sugar.
Assemble:
- Spread the sauce on the surface of each eggplant. Cover with the cheese, then the panko mix. Bake for a further 25 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
- Transfer to a serving plate. Drizzle with an extra swirl of olive oil and sprinkle with fresh basil leaves, if desired, then dig in!
Verdict:
The little eggplants are just too small, try it with the bigger ones!
It was a fun way to cook them, just not as amazing as I had hoped
If you try this recipe let me know what you think!
