Sliced, fried, sauced, cheesed, and reconstructed eggplant from ATK’s Cooks Country. Probably definitive proof that I do not do enough with eggplant.

The Sauce:
2T butter
1/4c onion finely diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp anchovy paste
3/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp dried oregano
28 oz can crushed tomatos
14.5 oz can diced tomatos and juice
1/4c chopped basil

The Eggplant:
3 Eggplant (10 to 16 oz each) sliced 1/4″ thick, 20 slices total
1c Flour
5 eggs
1c EVOO

The Cheese
6oz grated pecorino romano
4oz grated fontina

Melt butter in a medium sauce pan. Saute onion until translucent. Add garlic, anchovy paste, red pepper flake, and oregano. Cook briefly until garlic is fragrant. Add all of the tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Allow to simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in basil. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 375F with a shelf on the top third of the oven (about 8″ from the broiler element).

In a 12″ skillet over medium heat, bring the EVOO up to 350F. Dredge sliced eggplant in flour to coat, dredge in egg and place in hot oil. Frying three slices at a time. Turn after 90s and fry for another 90s. Repeat for all remaining slices. Place on a paper towel lined plate to wick off excess oil.

In a 9×13 lasagne pan, place 1c of sauce and spread over the bottom of the pan. Lay 4 slices of eggplant side by side. Spread another 1/2c of sauce over the eggplant and sprinkle with 1/4 of the grated pecorino romano. Repeat layering eggplant, sauce and cheese until the last slices of eggplant have been added. Spread the remaining sauce over the eggplant and sprinkle with the grated fontina cheese. Bake for 30 minutes or the sauce around the edges of the pan is bubbling. Turn the oven to broil and brown the fontina cheese, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 20 minutes.