panko breaded eggplant caprese.

one day last week, i decided to buy an eggplant. i saw it, thought the color was really pretty, realized i've never made anything with eggplant before in my life, and figured i should try! i've also been craving eggplant parmesan lately, and kind of wanted to make that, too. so here's what i came up with:

panko breaded eggplant caprese

makes about 4 small servings or 3 big ones

one eggplant

one egg white

whole wheat flour*

skim milk*

panko bread crumbs*

salt*

garlic salt*

3 tomatoes

balsamic vinaigrette*

olive oil*

*no need for exact measurements for these items, use as much as you need/please!

preheat oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit. cut ends off eggplant, peel it and slice as thinly as possible into rounds. sprinkle rounds with salt and place rounds in between paper towels underneath something heavy for at least 30 minutes to draw the bitterness out.

set up three shallow bowls (or tupperware in my case!) - the first with whole wheat flour and garlic salt, the second with a mix of the egg white and skim milk and the third with the panko crumbs and more garlic salt. dip the eggplant rounds first in the whole wheat flour, making sure to cover them fully and tapping off any excess. dip in the egg white mixture letting any extra drip off. finally, coat in the panko flakes making sure to cover them fully.

place on a baking sheet covered in olive oil. bake for 20 minutes on one side and then flip. slice tomatoes and layer with the eggplant when cooled. drizzle with balsamic vinaigrette and sprinkle with more garlic salt. enjoy!

xo jordan