Eggplant Pizza

My brother found some gorgeous eggplant at the Farmer's market this weekend, so I dug around online for a new way to make them and found this...

Slice eggplant into 1/2" rounds. Dip in beaten egg and dredge in mixture of
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp oregano

Meanwhile, heat 1/4 cup vegetable oil in skillet. Place eggplant rounds in hot oil and cook until tender and browned on both sides. Remove to paper towel lined plate to drain. You could also spray the rounds with cooking spray and place under broiler if you don't want to fry them.

After the eggplant has cooled a little, place the rounds on a cooking sheet and top with pizza sauce, cheese, and any other toppings you enjoy. Place under broiler for about 5 minutes - until cheese is melted.

We made individual pizza rounds, but I imagine you could also use eggplant to make a large pizza crust by slicing it a bit thinner and overlapping the cooked eggplant to fill your pizza pan. Just be aware that the crust will not be firm enough to eat with your hands - but it will taste wonderful!

Eggplant Parmesan

My kids love this dish... they call it lasagna, but who cares when they eat it all and ask for more!

1 eggplant (about 1 pound), peeled

1 jar spaghetti sauce

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

1/2 tube polenta or 1 cup prepared polenta

Heat oven to 450°. Cut eggplant either lengthwise or into rounds. If you double the recipe and use a 9x13 pan, lengthwise works better - for the small pan, I like the rounds. Coat eggplant slices with cooking spray on both sides. Place on a baking sheet and bake 20 minutes until tender. Reduce oven to 375°. Spread a small amount of spaghetti sauce in the bottom of a 9x9 baking dish. Place one layer of eggplant slices and spread with 1 cup spaghetti sauce; sprinkle with 2/3 cup mozzarella and 1 tablespoon Parmesan. Repeat once. Top with polenta slices, remaining sauce and both cheeses. Bake, uncovered, 20 minutes until bubbly and cheese melts.