Eggplant Parmesan

Ingredients

Tomato Sauce:
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large yellow onion, coarsely chopped
4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
2 roasted red peppers, peeled, seeded and chopped
3 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
3 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley
3 tablespoons freshly chopped basil leaves
1 tablespoon dry oregano
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon Honey

Eggplant:
5 cups breadcrumbs
Butter, for greasing the dish
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 tablespoon dry oregano
1 tablespoon dry thyme
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
5 large eggs, beaten
1 big eggplants cut into 1/2-inch-thick round slices (need about 10 slices)
All-purpose flour, for dredging

Vegetable oil, for frying
Tomato Sauce
1/2 pound fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
12 ounces grated fontina
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Fresh basil leaves, torn
How to make Eggplant Parmesan
For Tomato Sauce:
1.Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the onion and cook until golden brown. Add the garlic ,red pepper and cayenne pepper and cook for 1 minute.
2.Add the tomatoes, bring to a boil and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 25 to 30 minutes. Make it into a puree using a blender.
3.Return the mixture back to the pan, add the parsley, basil and oregano and season with salt and pepper. Cook for 10 minutes longer and season with honey, if needed.

For the Eggplant:
1.Mix bread crumbs into a large shallow bowl. Add the herbs, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper.
2.In another medium shallow bowl, whisk the eggs and 2 tablespoons of water together.
3.Season each eggplant slice on both sides with salt and pepper. Dredge each eggplant slice in the flour, tapping off excess, then dip it in the egg, and finally dredge it in the bread crumb mixture. Shake off any excess breading and transfer the egg plant to a baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining eggplant.
4.Heat oil in a large pan over medium heat and fry all the eggplant slices, turning once, until golden brown, about 3 minutes per batch.
5.Finally cover the bottom of the prepared baking dish with some of the tomato sauce and arrange 1/2 of the eggplant over the sauce. Cover the eggplant with some of the sauce, sliced mozzarella, fontina, Romano cheese and some of the basil. Repeat the layers ending with the sauce. Top with the fresh mozzarella and remaining Romano and bake until hot and just beginning to brown, about 30 minutes. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.