Eggplant Parmesan from a Real Italian

My aunt it 100% Italian, both her parents were born and raised in Italy.  Living up to her stereotype she is a great cook, loves doing it, cooks way too much food and is always trying to feed anyone who is over at her house including me.  It has always been my secret goal to cook with her and steal some of those authentic Italian recipes she's always making.  Because I mean, is there anything better than great homemade Italian food??  I always secretly dreamed of winning over the heart of my husband with an authentic homemade sauce and spaghetti.  

Anyway Thursday was the start to my secret collection of her recipes...but much to my disappointment she doesn't necessarily have a recipe for anything...she just has ingredients and knowledge for what things "should" taste like.  We spent all day making Eggplant Parmesan and it turned out great but I'm not sure if I'll be able to repeat it on my own because she didn't give me any measurements...just approximations.  But still, it turned out to be The Best Eggplant Parmesan I've ever had, so I'm going to try post what we did with some pictures but good luck to you and to me in repeating it without my master chef aunt for help.

Ingredients:

Eggplant Parmesan

eggplant

flour

egg

Italian breadcrumbs

granulated garlic

grated pecorino romano cheese

mozarella

Vegetable oil (for frying)

Sauce

(this is her "cheat sauce" she uses when the sauce isn't really the main focus of the dish)

Bertolli Three Cheese Jar sauce

onions

garlic

red wine

grated pecorino romano cheese

olive oil

tomato

sauce

tomato paste (optional, for if the sauce turns out too thin)

oregano 

basil

granulated garlic

1. Peal and slice the eggplant lengthwise into pretty much as thin as you can get slices

2. Line a baking sheet with paper towels and lay the slices on, sprinkle with salt

3.  Lay paper towels over this layer, and continue layering

4. After you're done layering place something heavy on top to help squeeze out the moisture

5.  Add oil to a large sauce pan and heat on medium

6.  Chop onions & garlic and add to the pan

7.  When they are browned, add the jar sauce, but be careful because the sauce on the hot oil will cause it to pop

8.  Add the rest of the ingredients to the sauce to taste

 9.  Add a little breadcrumbs to a lot of flower onto a pie tin
10.  Beat a bowl of eggs
11. Heat up a frying pan of oil on medium
12.  Dip the slices of eggplant first in the flower, then the eggs and then into the oil until brown

 13.  Now we layer the fried slices of eggplant, first sauce, then eggplant, then mozarrella and grated cheese and then granulated garlic

 14.  Try to make sure the whole pan is covered with eggplant...no spaces

15.  Now bake it in the oven at 350, it will be done when the eggplant is very soft (using a fork to test)

This is done!

Mm posting this makes me want the leftovers, yum!