Eggplant Parmesan Bites

  The other night I made my Eggplant Parmesan in a slightly different way than normal.  Instead of slicing it in rounds, I cut it into 1/4 inch cubes so they were small enough to bite but large enough to hold everything I wanted to top it with.

I dropped them into a liquid mixture, which in my case was an egg mixed with a bit of soy sauce.  The soy sauce adds salt and lots of flavor without being overwhelming.  I don't like using milk or water so the soy sauce is perfect.

For these I took a lesson from some food product my mother used on occasion.  I filled a small plastic bag with seasoned bread crumbs although you could gluten free bread crumbs.  I found some gluten free bread crumbs in the baking aisle at my local grocery store, just next to the regular ones.

I dropped the eggplant chunks into the bag and did my shaky dance until they were all nicely coated.  I spread them in one layer on a flat cast iron skillet but you could easily use a cookie sheet.  I popped them in a 350 degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes until they were just soft but not mush.  Take them out, poor the sauce over the cubes, sprinkle a mix of cheeses over the mixture and top with a sprinkle of freshly grated Parmesan.  Freshly grated is much more flavorful than the stuff in the cylinder you find in the store.

Put the pan back into the oven and bake until the cheese is a golden brown. The eggplant should be soft and its ready to eat.   I follow the same directions for regular Eggplant Parmesan except I slice the eggplant about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick depending.

I usually save the regular eggplant for slicing and use the oriental eggplant for the bites because they are so small around as compared with the Italian variety. 

Any way I do it, I bake the eggplant rather than frying it because it gets too oily otherwise.  I once had Eggplant Parmesan that leeched out oil every time I cut a piece from it.  By the time I finished eating, there was a good layer of oil coating the bottom of my plate.  So I bake and never fry.

Give the recipe a try and enjoy it.