Breaded and Baked Eggplant

Our camping neighbor asked if we wanted an eggplant...

....I hesitated for a few seconds going "uuuhhhmmmm..." not being able to think of a nice way of declining or saying 'yuck' because I've never met an eggplant that I liked! I did admit to her however that I don't really know what to do with eggplant, I've never been a big fan so I never cook it. Dave jumped in with "eggplant parmigiana - yes!" so I thanked her and took the eggplant (knowing I wasn't cooking eggplant parmigiana while camping). She gave me a couple ideas how she cooks it - halve it the long way, rub with oil, grill face down; or cube in a pan with oil and salt - then I googled for additional ideas. Came across a bunch of recipes for breaded and baked slices and decided to give that a try...oh my...gotta say that I now love eggplant prepared this way and have even bought more since then! I had to go over to her camper the next morning gushing about how great this turned out and thanks to her I'm now an eggplant convert.

How 'bout you? An eggplant fan? Do you have other ways for me to try making it? Don't say 'eggplant parmigiana' or I'll think Dave is paying you to tell me that ;)

Ingredients:

• eggplant
• 6 T. unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup breadcrumbs, panko breadcrumbs, or cracker crumbs 
• 1/4 cup parmesan
• 1/2 t. Italian seasoning
• salt and pepper to taste

Trim the ends of the eggplant, peel if you want (it's fine to eat with skin on, whatever you prefer). Slice eggplant into rounds about 1/2" thick. Put the slices on a paper towel or baking sheet, sprinkle with salt and let sit for a few minutes to release some of the moisture from the eggplant (which helps the eggplant get crispy when baking).

Melt butter in a small bowl. In another bowl mix together breadcrumbs, parmesan, and spices. Brush both sides of an eggplant slice with butter, then dip in breadcrumb mixture to coat. Place on foil or parchment paper lined baking sheet, repeat with remaining slices. Bake in 400' oven for 15 minutes, then flip each slice and bake another 5 minutes until golden brown and crispy.

*note: the first time I made these I used Ritz cracker crumbs I found at the grocery store, since then I've used Panko - both are delish. Also, you can dip the slices straight into the butter and save the brushing it on if you prefer.  One more thing - this is really good served with a side of marinara - yep, sort of like eggplant parmigiana hahahaha.