How do I make an eggplant parmesan thats not greasy and messy?
The problem with eggplant is that it’s basically a sponge for oil. Ordinarily the trick with fried food is to cook it at a high enough temperature that the steam boiling off keeps the oil from entering, but that’s just not possible with eggplant. Unlike, say, chicken, it will absorb oil just sitting there. So the trick is to cook it thoroughly. If you heat it enough, the structure of the eggplant collapses and the oil it has absorbed comes back out. You can do that either with deep or shallow frying. With shallow frying, though, you can control the amount of oil that goes into it more easily. You can even just sautee it in a small amount of oil, but again, be sure to cook it thoroughly or it will just absorb that oil and never let go. The breading will always be problematic. Breading will absorb oil, and there’s no help for it; it doesn’t collapse the way eggplant does. You should use a thin layer of breading, or none at all. You’re usually advised to drain it on paper towels, but you’
