Eggplant Parmesan Skillet Stack
Roasted eggplant, sun-dried tomatoes, and a crunchy panko lid, built in one pan over a fire.
- calories
- 330
- weight
- 5.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 60
- protein
- 13 g
- serves
- 4, scales
- prep
- 10 min
- cook
- 25 min
- total time
- 35 min
- water
- 120 ml boiled
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Campfire coals
- Grill grate
- Canister stove
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Vegetarian
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Needs a cooler
- Basic
Ingredients
| Eggplant | 1 large | cut into 12 rounds about 1/4 inch thick |
|---|---|---|
| Sun-dried tomatoes | 1/2 cup | dry-packed, not the oil jar |
| Olive oil | 2 tbsp + 2 tsp | dropper bottle |
| Italian seasoning | 1 tsp | |
| Salt and pepper | to taste | |
| Dried basil | 1 tbsp | or a handful of fresh if it survived the drive |
| Shredded mozzarella or Italian blend | 1 cup | rides in the cooler |
| Panko | 1/4 cup |
Method
- Pour 120 ml of boiling water over the sun-dried tomatoes in a mug. Leave them ten minutes, then drain and chop.
- Heat a dry skillet over the coals or a grill grate. Toss the panko with 2 tsp of oil, salt, and pepper, and toast it in the pan until it browns. Tip it back into its bag and set it aside.
- Brush the eggplant rounds with the remaining 2 tbsp of oil and dust them with Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.
- Lay the rounds in the skillet in a single layer. Cook 4 to 5 minutes a side over moderate heat until they are browned and soft in the middle. Work in batches.
- Build four stacks in the pan: eggplant, tomatoes, a tablespoon of cheese, basil, then repeat, three rounds high.
- Cover the pan with foil or a lid and pull it to the edge of the fire. Five minutes, until the cheese runs.
- Scatter the toasted panko over the top and serve straight from the pan.
The original is an oven dish on two sheet pans. A skillet over coals does the same job because the point is dry heat: eggplant browned before it meets anything wet stays firm instead of going to mush. Fresh tomatoes bring too much water and too much weight, so dry-packed sun-dried tomatoes rehydrate in a mug instead.
The panko goes on last, toasted separately in the same pan. Bread it first and it steams under the cheese. Toast it and hold it back, and you get the crunch that a breaded-and-fried version never has by the time it reaches the plate. The cheese is the only cooler item here, and a quarter cup per stack is enough to bind it without turning it into a cheese bake.
Packing
Panko, Italian seasoning, and dried basil premix into one small bag. Sun-dried tomatoes in another. Cheese and the whole eggplant go in the cooler; the eggplant bruises, so pack it on top.
Variations
- No cooler: swap the mozzarella for a shelf-stable hard cheese, cut thin.
- A spoonful of tomato paste from a tube stirred into the soaked tomatoes makes it closer to a sauce.
https://ohmyveggies.com/recipe-lightened-up-eggplant-parmesan-stacks