All eggplant recipes are basically the same, however, coming from a full blooded Italian family I think people should know that before making the eggplant the most important step is actually prepping the eggplant.... very simple step and you can taste the difference I promise, all that needs to be done is to cut the eggplant as desired and peel then place the eggplant in a colander, sprinkle a small amount of salt and just layer it as you go salting each layer. The secret is to take a plate that fits inside the collander, lay it on top and put a full tea kettle (WATER) or a brick something heavy, on top and place the collander in a pie dish and place it in the fridge over night in the morning you should see brown liquid in the pie dish. You have just extracted all the bitterness from the eggplant. I promise once you try this you will do it everytime. You will also notice if other restaurants, people or subshops do it... It gives the eggplant a cleaner taste. So all you are doing is basically squishing the eggplant. The salt will help it sweat or bleed but my mom and grandmother always did it that way... I passed on this step once and it was pretty bitter and the only way I got rid of that taste was to freeze it and that seemed to work also but after doing all that work who wants to wait to eat it so give this a shot... Sincerly a paizan from the old north end in Boston. Donah.

I agree with Donah - it will make all the difference, especially if you are on the fence about eating eggplant! Just one thought-where's the Parmesan?

Thanks Donah for that advice so many people have no idea how to get the bitterness out.

Brilliant, thank you for that.

You can also put the eggplant in a bowl of salted water, and let stand for about 15 minutes. The longer you leave them soak the more the bitterness comes out.

You don't need to do this anymore. Most eggplant are bred with the bitterness out, but it does give it a tender bite as long as you PAT the salt off, not rinse it.

I have to say that this recipe was a hit for my family!!!! My husband loved it soo much, he was going back for seconds (something he usually never does). Thank you so much for this recipe! I will definitely be recommending it to my family and friends! :)

I make this all the time! I'm in the process of making it again right now. I'm so glad someone posted a simple way to make eggplant. It's delicious!

I love this recipe - My hubby ate it :) He is so picky it seems, but he liked this. I will have to try the salt to see if that helps with the bitterness, but I just LOVE the entire recipe - I used portabella mushrooms! Yummmmmy.

This was wonderful....Just wondering "where is the parmesan"? Should this be called eggplant mozzarella? Just wondering..... Still very good, but next time I will add parmesan.

I love this recipe!! I have been eating it for about 1 1/2 years, the only thing we do different is cut the eggplant long ways.

This was great! This was a great recipe to get my young kids involved in the kitchen and eating something other than our standard spaghetti & salad night. Plus, it got them to try a new vegetable. (What 5 & 6 year old could refuse a purple vegetable?!) Easy prep and delicious.

This is for Suzie (Washington) who is looking for parmesan... Parmesan means "melted cheese"!

Skipped the mushrooms added a little more mozzarella .......mmmmm delicious . Thank you very much !!!!! :)

If you add grated parmesan to the breadcrumbs before you dip the eggplant in it, it will give you some of that yummy parmesan taste. The more parm the stronger te parm flavour. I do this with my chicken parmesan too. I also add a hint of garlic by rubbing the dish I bake it in with a garlic clove.