I've had good results using breaded & baked eggplant rounds in place of a bread crust. It's like eggplant parm, improved by toppings =) I usually salt and rinse the rounds to get rid of some of the water, but I recently read a recipe where the blogger pre-cooked some zuke rounds on a George Foreman to dry them out a bit before using them in a gratin-- so I may try this next time, since that sounds effective and then you get bonus grilled flavor.
Then dip in an egg wash (or whatever you like best) and bread with seasoned panko. I pre-bake until a bit crisp, then add cheese & toppings and bake till bubbly.
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