Eggplant Parmesan Caesar Salad
I’m always looking for ways to jazz up a salad. I love Caesar salad, but it can sometimes get boring. Usually I am not a huge eggplant fan, but I do love eggplant parmesan- I’m going to guess breading something and then frying it is always going to appeal to me. I decided to combine these 2 worlds. Instead of serving the eggplant parmesan with pasta- which I also love because, hello, I love carbs… but sometimes you just can’t eat carbs all day, everyday. So, this is a great alternative.
I love a simple Caesar salad recipe. And to make it even easier- I just use my favourite store-bought bottled dressing. Top with cheese and croutons… yum, croutons… Anyway, the bulk of the work in this recipe is assembling the eggplant parmesan but its well worth it. Use your favourite bottled marinara and you have an easy, yummy, yet impressive salad that worth gossiping about!
Eggplant Parmesan Caesar Salad
Yeild: 2-4 salads
INGREDIENTS:
1 large eggplant, sliced thick
1 cup flour
3 eggs, beat
2 1/2 cups panko crumbs
2 tbsp Italian seasoning
salt/pepper
1/2 jar marinara sauce
1/2 cup shredded cheese
1 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
1-2 heads romaine lettuce, chopped
Parmesan cheese, grated, amount preferred
croutons, amount preferred
Favourite bottle of Caesar salad dressing
DIRECTIONS:
Set up a dredging station with flour, salt and pepper in one bowl, the beaten eggs in another bowl and the panko crumbs mixed with the Italian seasoning in the last bowl.
Take the eggplant slices, coat each with flour, egg, panko and set aside.
In a shallow pan, fill with vegetable oil about 1/3 the way up. bring up to frying temperature (medium/high heat).
Fry each side of the eggplant until golden brown. Remove and place on paper towel.
On a baking tray covered with parchment paper, place the fried eggplant piece in one layer. Top each piece with about a tbsp of marinara and shredded cheese.
Bake in 400 degree oven for about 15 minutes until golden and the cheese in melted.
Meanwhile, assemble your Caesar salad using the romaine lettuce, Parmesan cheese, croutons and dressing.
Remove the eggplant from the oven, let cool 10 minutes. Serve over top of the Caesar salad. sprinkle with more Parmesan cheese and basil. Enjoy!
