Ingredients

• 3 medium eggplants
• Sea salt
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 1 cup Italian style breadcrumbs
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 2 cups marinara sauce
• 8 oz fresh mozzarella, sliced into disks
• ¼ cup fresh basil, chopped
• ½ cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

Instructions

1. Eggplant prep: Slice the eggplants into disks ¼ inch thick. Line a baking sheet with a paper towel and evenly distribute the eggplant disks. Sprinkle with sea salt and let sit for 1 hour to release the moisture.
2. Preheat oven to 400 ºF. Grease 2 baking sheets.
3. Prepare 3 shallow pans for dredging the eggplants. In the first, mix the flour, 1 teaspoon sea salt and black pepper. In the second, whisk the eggs. In the third, stir together the panko breadcrumbs, Italian style breadcrumbs and garlic powder.
4. For each eggplant disk, dredge in the flour mixture, dip in the egg mixture and finally coat with the breadcrumbs. Set each side by side on the greased baking sheets. Sprinkle the tops with grated Parmesan cheese.
5. Bake the trays in the oven, flipping the disks once halfway through (20 min).
6. Lightly grease a 9inx13in baking dish and spread 2 tablespoons of marinara sauce in the bottom. Layer half of the eggplants into the dish and top with half of the remaining marinara sauce.
7. Distribute the mozzarella slices over the top of the dish. Sprinkle half of the chopped basil and half of the grated Parmesan cheese.
8. Cover with remaining eggplant disks and the rest of the marinara sauce, chopped basil and grated parmesan cheese.
9. Bake until cheese is bubbling and lightly browned (20-25 min). Serve hot.