This is great served with braised chicken, a fresh green salad and a loaf of crusty bread. A recipe from my mother, who wrote it down for me the month before our wedding as we ate lunch together at Panera Bread in Marion, OH.
Peel & slice eggplant in ½” slices. Dip slices in beaten egg, then flour (season if you like - I used dried basil, onion powder and seasoned salt.) Brown in butter in a skillet over low-medium heat 4 to 6 minutes until browned as desired. Placed cooked slices in a baking pan coated with olive oil, single layer.
Sprinkle top with ¼ to ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese. Cover with small jar spaghetti sauce (I only had 1/3 jar so I chopped up two big Mortgage Lifter heirloom tomatoes and 2 cloves of garlic, then threw in a couple Tbsp of Basil Aioli Base and added some freshly ground pepper and sea salt to make the sauce.)
Basil Aioli BaseChop a bunch of fresh basil into small pieces. Finely mince however many cloves of garlic you like. Put basil and garlic into a jar with a tight-fitting lid. Pour olive oil over the mixture until it is covered - you may mash it down with a non-metal spoon to make it more compact. Finally squeeze lemon or lime juice over the top. This will keep the basil green under the surface for several weeks in the refrigerator. It can be used to season sauces and soups, or to make Aioli for sandwiches or grilled vegetables.
To make Aioli: just combine mayonnaise with the Basil Aioli Base in whatever proportion suits your palate, and spread it on sandwiches or hamburgers, or serve as a dip with grilled vegetables. I recommend making it fresh as needed from the Base.
