Serves about 8-10. Check for ^{footnote numbers}

Hardware

Ingredients

2 or 3 eggplants, (aubergine) peeled (or not) and thinly sliced about 1/8″ thin
3 eggs, beaten
3-4 Cups Panko (plain)
6 Cups Red Sauce ¹
2 Sticks/Tubs fresh soft whole-fat mozzarella (not the shredded bagged stuff)
½ Cups grated Parmigiano Reggiano, blended with…
¾ Cups grated Pecorino Romano (don’t skip this)
1-2 T fresh basil, chiffonade [leaves rolled up together from stem to tip and sliced into thin ribbons] (as garnish)
Fresh Lemon Zest (as garnish)

Preheat oven to 350F (175C)
Layout the sliced eggplant and liberally salt (one side).
Let sit for 30min for excess moisture to weep.
Blot with a paper towel. Don’t skip this step, or the eggplant will be bitter.

Dip eggplant slices in egg, then in bread crumbs.
Place in a single layer on a baking sheet.
Bake in preheated oven for ~5 minutes on each side.
In a baking dish² spread sauce to cover the bottom. Place a layer of eggplant slices in the sauce. Sprinkle with mozzarella and Parm/Romano mix cheeses. Repeat with remaining ingredients, ending with the mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle some basil on top (or wait until done and garnish, fresh basil is best when raw).
Bake in preheated oven for 35 minutes, or until top cheese is golden brown.
Remove from oven and let rest for 10-15min
Top with garnishes

¹If making vegetarian version use Jimi’s “Sacrilelicious Vegetarian Red Sauce”, otherwise use “Jimi’s Italian Red Sauce”. Do not use bottled sauce. Seriously. I’ll find you.
²I like to use the Pyrex 6C square “simple store” dishes for this and make a couple “mini parms” rather than one big parm. Freezes and reheats better this way as well.
The Pec-Ro cheese is what really makes this dish shine. It has a very distinct strong flavor that plays well with eggplant.
The cheeses can be gotten at Costco. They charge half the price for (the same brands of) Mozz/Romano/Parm cheeses than grocery stores do.
Might be a good idea to invest in a Mandoline, use at or near thinnest slice setting.
Have you bought a Microplane yet? Buy the fucking Microplane.

The trick of this dish is to get many layers of thin-sliced eggplant, cheese and sauce. It refines the dish.
Love, Jimi