Quick Eggplant Parm Bites

Growing up, my family didn't really explore food too much.  I guess most people probably didn't, as this is the era of the foodie moreso than any before.  I fully expect that my kid will have tried sushi, lobster, french toast, and all manner of things by the time he's eight.  But it was only after I found an eggplant on sale for a dollar a few months ago that I ever considered eating one of those things.  They are so weird.  Purple outside, meaty innards.  But delicious topped with the right things!  I found a dainty one at the farmer's market and thought I'd give some appetizer-style eggplant parm bites a try.  

What's the best part?...they're super simple.

Peel and slice the eggplant (good meaty slices, maybe 1/2-3/4" thick) and coat with cooking spray.  Broil for about 4 minutes.  Flip, spray, and broil again.  Also I had never successfully broiled anything before this meal.  Anyway, once the slices are good and tender, toss a layer of mozzarella on them.

Mix some breadcrumbs and (good fancy style) parmesan with a little olive oil, just enough to make it pack together.  Put the mixture on top of the cheese, and back into the broiler for a few minutes.  Keep an eye on it.  Those crumbs will burn very quickly if unattended.  This only takes between 30 seconds and a minute.

Put some marinara sauce on top of the breadcrumbs and still more mozzarella on top.  You could even dice some small tomatoes with basil and garlic instead to get a bruschetta feel.

Voila!

This is a pretty quick recipe.  It's a lot of in and out of the broiler, which is why I used my toaster/convection oven.  Overall, though, it maybe took about 15 minutes.

I used my easy cherry tomato sauce in lieu of traditional marina, but feel free to take some creative licensing with it!  Also I wanted to eat about twice as much as I showed here.  Melty, cheesy and not loaded with carbs is seriously my kind of nomming.

Fun fact, I was actually out of parm, so I just kept calm and slacked on.  Surprisingly, for a meal missing one of the title ingredients, it was still really good.