Eggplant Parmesan with Vodka Sauce

Credit: Cohen, Jacob. I Could Nosh. Harvest, 2023.

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This recipe has been in my mind for months. One time, I off-handedly mentioned to my grandmother over the phone that I wanted I Could Nosh by Jacob Cohen because my mother had sent me recipes from there that looked amazing. And guess what? I got the book (thanks grandma), and I am finally able to recreate the recipes my mom made! First up is this decadent eggplant parmesan with pink sauce. I stuck with the recipe for the most part, except for the following: instead of plain and panko breadcrumbs, I used Italian style breadcrumbs. Instead of cayenne pepper, I used chili flakes to season the breadcrumbs a bit extra. Finally, instead of shredded mozzarella, I sliced some fresh mozzarella. Buon Appetito!

THE SAUCE (Italian Hand Gesture)

(Yes I am aware I made this joke already, it doesn't get old). First and foremost, I needed to make the sauce. I did this step on Saturday, and that was one of the best decisions of my life. Only God knows how long this recipe would have taken if I had done it all in one day. Anyhow, to start off, I cut up one large onion and six cloves of garlic. I added that to a pot with olive oil, salt, pepper, and chili flakes, and fried them until they were a bit light brown, pictured below.

After that step was complete, I added my vodka, which was enough to give me a small headache the next morning. I only let that cook for a few seconds, just enough to get the brown stuff off the bottom of my pot. Then, I added 56 ounces of canned tomatoes, and my basil. For the tomatoes, I used one can of crushed tomatoes, and one can of pureed tomatoes. This way, my sauce was smooth without me having to blend it. The actual recipe says to use crushed tomatoes only and blend, but I did NOT feel like using my dinosaur blender again. I simmered the tomatoes for half an hour, added my cream, and the sauce was all complete! I had enough to put some in the freezer for another time.

The following steps were completed on Sunday night, when it was time for dinner!

The Breading of the Eggplant

I cut my eggplant into circles that were not too thick and not too thin. For the breading, I used flour, eggs, and Italian breadcrumbs. I seasoned my flour with salt, and my breadcrumbs with oregano, garlic powder and chili flakes. I diverted from plain and panko breadcrumbs simply because I did not need two kinds of breadcrumbs in my pantry. I also used chili flakes because it felt more authentic than cayenne pepper. I cannot explain why I felt this way, I just did.

The breading process went like this: first the flour, then the egg, and, finally the breadcrumbs. I used my right hand to dip my eggplants into the flour and breadcrumbs (the dry ingredients), and my left hand to dip them into the eggs (the wet ingredient). Now, you might be wondering, how effective was this method in keeping my hands clean? My answer: not very effective. However, sometimes I feel like having a system gets the job done more efficiently. This is true for me in any context, whether at work or making a meal. So, this was my system, and below is the end result! It still took awhile, and I ended up with so much eggplant slices that I needed to use my toaster oven for some of them. I baked them at 450 degrees for half an hour, and they turned out golden and crispy.

The Final Form

Before I knew it, it was finally time to build the eggplant parmesan. First, I put two cups of vodka sauce on the bottom, then one layer of eggplant disks. I repeated this process until I had used up all of the eggplant, so I ended up with two layers of breaded eggplant and vodka sauce. For the last layer, I sprinkled a little bit of sauce (measured by my soul), and placed the mozzarella, parmesan, and cherry tomatoes on top. I used slices of fresh whole milk mozzarella instead of shredded, and oh boy was it WORTH IT! (15oz sliced up. Perfecto).

Now, all the dish had to do was go in the oven! Again! I lowered the oven temperature to 400 degrees, and put in my eggplant parmesan for 25 minutes. For the last five minutes, I placed it on the top rack so that my cheese would get bubbly. I made some cavatappi pasta on the side- one of the swirly shapes-, and just like that it was all done!

Last Words

This dish was absolutely divine. The vodka sauce had the perfect amount of spice and creaminess. The eggplant was moist, soft and delicious. The cheese was CHEESY and MELTY. Mozzarella truly has the best cheese pull; change my mind. The crispiness of the eggplant breading did not survive as much as I wanted it to, but I didn't mind. The sauce was that good.

A few notes: I had a lot of leftover breadcrumbs. Maybe next time I will a) use less breadcrumbs or b) use the leftovers in the layering step for a crispier texture. I think I will also skip the cherry tomatoes, but thats a personal preference. And maybe I will try with panko and plain breadcrumbs, as I was supposed to do originally.

I now have enough of this vodka sauce and eggplant parmesan to last me a lifetime, and, oh boy, am I happy about it. Pictured below is the final result! Until next time, Xoxo. (*Gossip Girl*)