Eggplant Parmesan

This is an excellent recipe for eggplant parmesan. The panko crust cooks up light and crunchy, a nice contrast to the meatiness of the eggplant slices. The sauce and cheese work nicely with the crust, but they don't overwhelm it in either taste or texture. It's also a perfect balance of work and time to quality.

A lot hangs on the quality of your tomato sauce here. Get the absolute best you can. I'll also suggest using a mandolin to get consistent eggplant slices, and the 12-inch skillet was definitely the way to go.

I do want to ding this recipe on one issue, though. Perhaps Alton thinks a "medium" eggplant is a lot smaller than I do, but I needed double the amount of panko and parmesan. (Which, of course, I only discovered when I ran out of breading and had half an eggplant left.) I also needed extra sauce for plating; the one cup called for only lasted me through assembly.