Eggplant Parmesan


Ingredients:
eggplant, kosher salt, whole tomatoes, olive oil, milk, cornstarch, olive oil, flour, eggs, milk, panko breadcrumbs, parmigiano-reggiano cheese, olive oil, mozzarella cheese, parmigiano-reggiano cheese

Directions:
Cut off the top and bottom end of the eggplant. Do not use the sides, unless peeled, they have an awful texture.
Cut the body of the vegetable into 6-8 slices, lengthwise. Wash them. Sprinkle with salt (use a bowl], and then place, in a colander or sieve, to drain, for about 45 minutes, with the slices, facing as upright as possible.
Make the tomato sauce easily, by putting the can of tomatoes into a 12-inch sauté pan or broad skillet, check for skins, and remove some of the cores if desired. Crush them well with clean hands. Season with the oil, adding a pinch of salt and a little pepper. Bring to the simmer over medium, or medium-low heat, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat to set aside.
Heat the milk in a small saucepan. Mix about 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with a little tap water to make a paste. When the milk aporoaches the simmer, stir in the starch, and season with a little salt. Whisk until bubbly, then set off heat to cool, it will thicken as it does.  Make sure, while its being made, to stir often, or else the pan may scorch.
Run water all over the eggplant well, to remove the salt.  Dry on several layers of paper towels.
Put about 1/2 cup olive oil into a bowl.
Put flour in another bowl, don't be too spare, it can soak up rather a lot.
Crack the eggs into a third bowl with the milk and vegetable oil.
Finally place the crumbs in a fourth bowl, grating in the Parmesan cheese.
Season only the eggs and crumbs. With salt, adding only a little; the eggplant has already been seasoned.
Have ready also a sheet tray, with a rack set over it, this will be used to hold the eggplant once it's been breaded, and subsequently, once it's been fried.
Dip, one at a time, each eggplant slice into the olive oil, dip two or three times, in the flour until it doesn't soak anymore up, then dip both sides well into the eggs, allowing the excess to drip off, finally coat several times in breadcrumbs. Place on sheet, and repeat.
Get a deep iron skillet out, or other suitable frying vessel and fill with a mixture of vegetable oil, and olive oil, until half full. Preheat to medium-high, and get hot.
Slip in two eggplant slices at a time, and fry till golden brown on each side, maybe two minutes, only turn once, then retrieve with tongs, allowing excess oil to drip back in pot, and replace on sheet.  These look great with color.
Repeat the procedure, until all slices have been fried, turning the heat down to moderate, if necessary to cook the eggplant right.
Heat the oven to 400 degrees.
Lay the eggplant slices, slightly overlapping, until the dish is filled. Spread all of the tomato sauce onto the slices, reaching well into the corners.
Whisk the cold milk sauce. Retrieve a soup spoon, and put dollops all over the tomato, connect them with the bottom of the spoon, working lightly, as well as possible, some of the red will show through, that is okay.
Tear the cheese slices into pieces that will fit the dish until all of it has been used. Grate on about three tablespoons of Parmesan.
Set into the heated oven to bake for about 20 minutes. Heat the broiler, without removing the dish, and glaze until well-colored. Rest a few minutes before serving.