Eggplant Parmesan, also known as Melanzane alla Parmigiana or Eggplant Parmigiana, is a well-loved classic Italian dish originating in Naples.  Eggplant slices are breaded and shallow-fried until creamy on the inside and crisp on the outside.  Then they are covered with sauce, topped with cheese, and baked.  It's a popular way to prepare eggplant and goes well with a big green salad and a bit of crusty bread.
 
The very time-consuming part of a traditional Eggplant Parmesan recipe is the preparation of the eggplant cutlets.  It's hour or more worth of work by the time you get the eggplant slices ready.  First, the peeling and slicing of the eggplant; then the salting of the eggplant to sweat out bitterness, followed by the breading and frying.   The steps are easy, but it simply takes a long time.

Hmmm...but what if there were eggplant cutlets ready to go, already breaded and cooked?   You guessed it...Trader Joe's has frozen eggplant cutlets, boxed in the frozen aisle.  Suddenly the recipe is a snap.  Grab a baking dish, make a layer of the ready-made cutlets, top with sauce and cheese, and pop into the oven.  The prep time is suddenly cut down to a minute or two.

Trader Joe's also has the complete Eggplant Parmesan dish, frozen in trays, but there's something a little more flexible and fresh about layering it yourself.  You can use your favorite marinara, try different cheeses, add a layer of ricotta cheese, add a bag of frozen spinach (thawed), or add fresh herbs to your liking.  Fresh mozzarella, cut into rounds, would be a great substitute for the shredded mozzarella.

Trivia: Did you know that there is some debate about the origins of the name of this dish?  Most people assume that Parmigiana is just a translation of Parmesan (which is actually Parmigiano).  Most culinary historians say that Parmigiana is not a reference to the cheese.  The leading theory seems to be that it derives from the Sicilian word palmigiana, which are the wooden slats in a shutter, referring to how the eggplants are layered in an overlapping pattern.  

Eggplant Parmesan

1 box Eggplant Cutlets
1 25 oz jar marinara (I used Organic Tomato and Basil Marinara)
1 1/2 cups Shredded Mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese
Fresh basil or parsley, optional

1.) Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2.) In the bottom of an 8x10 or 9x12-inch baking dish, spread one cup of marinara.  Place the frozen eggplant cutlets in the dish in one layer, overlapping as necessary.
3.) Cover the eggplant cutlets in sauce, then sprinkle with the two cheeses. 
4.) Bake uncovered for 35 minutes.   Remove from oven and let rest 5-10 minutes.  Top with fresh herbs before serving.