This recipe is my weakness. I really have to watch myself when I make this one. It’s just that good!  I still remember the first time I had this at my aunts house in Brasil. (yep it is one of those for me, so good you never forget it).  I used to go eat lunch at my aunts house on Fridays. She lived close to my school and I only had time to go to her house before going back for school.  The first time she served this I looked at it and thought “oh no eggplant! I will just eat one to be polite”.  Yeah right! Needless to say she had to make those for me every week. To this day, every time we go back to visit Brasil she has a whole dish ready, waiting for me… yum!

Here it is. Enjoy!

Breaded Eggplant:

1/2 onion (shredded)

1 cup mayo

1 cup bread crumbs

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1 eggplant

How to make it:

You are going to shred the onion, just like you shred cheese.  There will be a lot of juice coming from the onion with the little pieces of onion, so make sure you do this on the plate you will use.  Then, mix with the onion the 1 cup of mayo. This will be the wet mixture for the breading part.

In another plate mix the bread crumbs and the parmesan cheese.

Slice the eggplant, quite thin.  I then soak them in water just a little bit.  Then I pat it dry with a paper towel and start the breading process.  First you dip it in the onion mix.

Then in the bread crumb mix…

Set them aside in a cookie sheet.

Bake them at 350 degrees for about 30-40 minutes. I will turn them half the way through so both sides get this golden brown color. Ohhh it is so good 😀

You can serve this as a side dish or here are some ideas that I like to do if there are leftovers:

Eggplant Lasagna:  Make your favorite lasagna recipe but use the eggplant instead of noodles.  Lasagna in Brasil is a bit different than the ones I have eaten in the US.  The most traditional type of lasagna uses layers of lasagna noodles, sliced ham, sliced cheese, bolognese sauce, and alfredo sauce.

Eggplant Parmesan:  Layer slices into a casserole dish, then top with a nice marinara sauce and shredded mozzarella. Keep layering until there is not more eggplant left.

I love broccoli, it is full in vitamins C, K and A. It is also a great source of dietary fiber and it is believed to be anti-cancer!!!

I also love it because it is easy to cook, you can boil, steam it or even eat it raw. 

I like to buy it fresh (not frozen). That way I can use the flowers as well as the stalk.  This is what I like to do:

First rinse it well, and then hold the broccoli by the flowers and using a julienne peeler, peel the stalk.  This will make broccoli juliennes. 

Usually this would be the part you throw away, but why not use it right?  It is great for stir fry, salads or even just add to sauces or pasta.