Deconstructed Eggplant Parmesan with Italiano Pronto

This is a little treat I learned to make when living in Italy. It has all the ingredients of a typical Eggplant Parmesan, but it is prepared slightly different! Plus, it takes 1/2 the time to make. This is great as a meal or as "finger food" for dinner parties or social events!

INGREDIENTS:
2¼ Teaspoons Italiano Pronto from World Seasonings 

1 Japanese eggplant (larger rather than smaller) 

1 Cup Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced

¼ Cup Onion, diced 

2 Tablespoons Italian parsley 

2 Teaspoons Capers, drained and rinsed

½ Cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

2 Tablespoons Olive oil

DIRECTIONS:

Here is everything you will need. You can skip the capers if you prefer, but they add a nice little flavor to the dish.

First, preheat your oven or toaster oven to 400 degrees. Cut the stem of the eggplant off, and then cut it in half lengthwise. Here is the tricky part, carefully carve out the eggplant with a small knife. You want to make a "boat" out of both halves.

Take the eggplant you just carved out, and cut it into strips (see picture above). Turn and dice them about 1/4" in size. Place in a bowl while you prepare the other ingredients. Chop the parsley and add to bowl.

Next, deseed the tomatoes. However, you want to do it is fine, but trim the tips off, turn sideways, then run a knife through it while rolling it like above. Dice 1/4" add to bowl.

Dice your onion small. Cut off tips, remove skin, cut in half lengthwise. Feel the ribs of the onion, you want to slice down in between each rib. Turn and dice about 1/8". Place in bowl.

At this point, this is how everything should look once prepared. You only need 1/4 cup of onions so you will have some left over if you diced the entire 1/2 of onion. Same for the tomato.

Add 2 tablespoons of oil to a hot sauté pan. Let the oil heat up a bit, and then add 1 teaspoon of Italiano Pronto. Let it sauté for 15 seconds or so, and then add the onions. Sauté the onions for about 3 mins.

Toss the eggplant and tomatoes in the pan to mix with the onions. Sauté for about 2 more minutes. Don't over cook it because you will cook it all in the oven for 25 minutes.

Add the 2nd teaspoon of Italiano Pronto, capers and parsley then sauté for another 2 minutes. I like to add flavor in layers. It helps keep everything uniform in taste. Remove from heat.

This is what it should look like after everything has sautéed.

Next you need to fill the eggplant "boat" with the mixture you just cooked. Place them on a cookie sheet lined with foil, then fill.

Top with plenty of Parmesan cheese. Place in preheated oven for 23-25 minutes.

Wow...doesn't this make your mouth water? Tastes as good as it looks!

Top with a little more Parmesan cheese. Carefully cut into 2" pieces or so. It will be very hot so be careful not to burn your fingers. Place on serving dish and toss a fresh salad with a little olive oil and Sassy Salad to go with it! Enjoy!