Eggplant Parmesan is a great alternative to traditional lasagna. The wonderful thing is it's meatless, so it makes a great vegan meal. I always make it up when I have guests vegetarian guests coming over.
You can apply a few variations to this dish. I like to use a combination of Parmesan and mozzarella. You can use your favorite cheeses, however. For example, cheddar would work fine, as well. We use a round egg plant in this recipe, but the long egg plant would work fine , as well.
Make the sauce by adding olive oil in a saucepan. Put in the garlic and saute until fragrant. Pour in pasta sauce season with the basil. Stir and simmer over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Set it aside.
Meanwhile, slice the eggplant into ¼ inch thick slices. Dredge them in the flour.
Heat the oil in a deep fryer or pot to about 300 degrees F over medium heat Fry the eggplant, in batches, for about 2 and a half minutes on each side they are until golden brown. Set them aside on a plate.
Spread a generous amount of sauce onto the bottom of a baking dish. I use a 7 X 10 baking dish. Place the eggplant in and allow them to overlap each other. Then, spread a layer of sauce and cheese over the top. Repeat the process for as many layers as you like.
On the last layer, finish it off by adding more cheese on top and some fresh chopped basil.
Bake the dish in a 350 F preheated oven for about 25-30 minutes until cheese melts.
Serve and enjoy your eggplant Parmesan!