Baked Eggplant Parmesan
Autumn quietly arrives in New England - crisp mornings turn into warm sunny afternoons with the glorious fall sun setting a few minutes earlier each day: Farmers markets stocked with the last of nature's bounty before the first frost ends harvesting. Beautiful plump eggplant beacons me as I fill my market basket with copious quantities perfect to make my Baked Eggplant Parmesan. Coming from a long line of Italian cooks I've eaten and made this southern Italian dish my entire life. Like my mother I don't fry my eggplant - I prefer to bake - forgoing the extra fat from frying. And I've updated the recipe using Panko bread crumbs for a lighter breading. I love to taste the eggplant, not the breading. One more item - I only use San Marzano tomatoes. I like my sauce sweeter with less acidity. The San Marzano variety of plum tomato grows in the rich volcanic soil of the Sarno River valley, near Mount Vesuvius, resulting in a sweet flesh with low acidity. Its thick ski...