A couple weeks ago, I gave you a recipe for Baked Eggplant Parmesan. It’s a great way to make eggplant parmesan on a weeknight because you don’t have to take the time to fry each slice of eggplant. But, Traditional Eggplant Parmesan requires that time and care.

We had a Sunday free recently, so I decided to spend that time making traditional eggplant parm.

Now, I’ll be honest with you. The entire process takes about two hours start to finish. It’s not quick. But it’s worth it.

Side note: When I was making this, I peeled the eggplant. But I was curious to know what other people did. There was a huge discussion about it on Drugstore Divas’ Facebook page. If you want to weigh in, you can head over to this link and join the conversation.

Traditional Eggplant Parmesan

What You’ll Need:

• 3 globe eggplants
• 24oz. marinara sauce
• 8oz. mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons fresh oregano
• 2 tablespoons fresh basil
• Italian breadcrumbs
• 3 eggs
• Flour
• Oil for frying

What You’ll Do:

Wash and peel the eggplants. Chop them into 1/8- to 1/4-inch slices. Put them in a large bowl filled with water and two pinches of salt. This will tenderize the eggplant and make it softer.

Let the eggplant sit in the water at least 20 minutes (and up to an hour). Drain and rinse the eggplant.

In the meantime, cut your cheese into chunks.

Preheat the oven to 400.

Fill three bowls with flour, the eggs, and breadcrumbs.

Shake off a slice of eggplant. Cover it in flour, then dredge in egg, then cover in breadcrumbs. Set aside. Until every slice is breaded.

Heat up oil in a pan. Add just enough to cover the eggplant just over halfway. When the oil is hot, add the slices of eggplant around the edge. (I always avoid putting one in the middle because I think it will cook too much being directly on the burner.) Fry about a minute or two, then flip them and fry about a minute or two more.

The frying time is approximate. Later batches will take shorter than the first batch. Just check them. When the breading is a golden brown, it’s done.

Pour a tiny bit of sauce at the bottom of an 8×11-inch pan.

Remove the eggplant from the oil and make a layer of it on top of the sauce.

Top with half the mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Top with half the remaining sauce.

Fry more of your eggplant until you have enough for a second layer.

Put that on top of the sauce, followed by the rest of the sauce. Then, top with the cheeses and fresh herbs.

Cover and bake for 25 to 30 minutes until the cheese is melted on top.

Serve warm.

Small aside: If you’re like me and have a garden full of eggplant — or if you just want to maximize your time — do what I do. I fry enough eggplant for two full trays of Eggplant Parmesan. I use half the eggplant for dinner that night, then freeze the rest (once it has completely cooled). When you want an easy weeknight dinner, just take the fried eggplant out of the freezer, let it defrost, and assemble an Eggplant Parmesan.