Did Santa Bring You Stretchy Pants?

Our Christmas dinner this year wasn't very traditional, but it was delicious. It was just the two of us--newlyweds! in our first house!--so there wasn't much pressure to spend all day churning out dish after dish. We just went for one cozy, delicious dish: eggplant parmesan!

Before 2006, I'd really only had eggplant parmesan at Olive Garden. (Small Southern towns aren't known for great Italian family restaurants.) Then I moved to the DC area and met my friend Jeff, who pretty much nailed Italian comfort food (and chocolate chip cookies, but that's another post) and who was nice enough to invite us over for home-cooked meals. He fed Josh and I eggplant parmesan almost four years ago, and we still talk about it. Making friends with Jeff was an excellent move; wearing stretchy pants to his place for dinner was genius.

By nature, this is a rich dish. But after a month of Christmas treats in the atmosphere and four days at my parents' house, stocked with the usual parade of sweets...well, stretchy pants can only stretch so far. I consulted my favorite guilt-proof cookbook for some tricks on making the dish a little lighter...so that I could still eat dessert. (My carryon was packed with two kinds of cake, pecan turtles, peanut butter balls, and fudge. I had work to do.) The biggest difference came from baking the eggplant instead of frying, but other small tweaks helped too.

Eggplant isn't something I unequivocally love. Too often, it's bland and boring; at the worst, it's limp and squishy. Eggplant needs a bit of finagling to make it really shine--salting, draining, and pressing slices does the trick. Dredging only one side in flour, egg whites, and then toasted panko (Japanese-style breadcrumbs--they're crustless) with parmesan keeps the slices from getting limp and squishy. Problem solved! And with room for fudge, even in the pants that are begging for mercy.

Notes on this recipe

• If you don't have panko, use three cups of regular breadcrumbs. They'll shrink as they toast.
• Although the recipe calls for homemade tomato sauce, I've found that jarred tomato sauce with basil and garlic works really well. (I like Newman's Own fire-roasted tomato and garlic sauce.)

Eggplant Parmesan

Adapted from The Best Light Recipe | Serves 6

For the sauce

Two 28-ounce cans diced tomatoes

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 teaspoon olive oil

1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)

½ cup chopped fresh basil

Salt and pepper

For the eggplant

2 eggplants (about 1 pound each), ends trimmed, sliced into 1/3-inch-thick rounds

Salt

Vegetable oil spray

1 ½ cups panko (see note above)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 ounce Parmesan cheese, grated (about 1/2 cup)

½ cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder

Pepper

3 large egg whites

1 tablespoon water

8 ounces reduced-fat mozzarella cheese, shredded (about 2 cups)

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

For the eggplant: Toss half of the eggplant with 1/2 teaspoon salt, then place in a large colander set over a bowl or in the sink. Repeat with the remaining eggplant and 1/2 teaspoon more salt, and transfer to the colander with the first batch. Let the eggplant sit for 30 minutes to drain, while you make the sauce. (Or fold laundry and watch Bravo, if you chose the Paul Newman option above.)

For the sauce: Pulse the tomatoes, with their juice, in a food processor until mostly smooth. Cook the ­garlic, tomato paste, oil, and pepper flakes (if using) in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the tomato paste begins to brown, about two minutes. Then stir in the tomatoes, bring to a simmer, and cook until thickened, 20 to 25 minutes. Off the heat, stir in the basil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and set aside until needed.

Prep your dredging ingredients: Combine the panko and oil in a 12-inch skillet, and toast over medium heat, stirring often, until golden, about 10 minutes. Spread the panko in a shallow dish and let cool slightly, then stir in the parmesan. In a second shallow dish, whisk the flour, garlic powder, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper together. In a third shallow dish, whisk the egg whites and water together. (I use a small Pyrex baking dish for the panko and two wide, low pasta bowls for the flour and egg whites.)

Now back to that eggplant: Spread the eggplant over several layers of paper towels or clean tea towels. Firmly press the tops of the eggplant dry with more towels, really squishing out extra liquid. Adjust the oven racks to the upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat the oven to 475 degrees. Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.

Season the eggplant with pepper. Lightly dredge one side of each eggplant slice in the seasoned flour, shaking off the excess. Dip the floured side of the ­eggplant into the egg whites, then coat the same side with the panko, pressing to help the crumbs adhere. Lay the eggplant slices, breaded-side up, on the baking sheets in a single layer.

Lightly coat the top of the eggplant slices with vegetable oil spray. Bake until the tops are crisp and golden, about 30 minutes, switching and rotating the baking sheets halfway through.

It's layering time: Spray the bottom and sides of a 13 by 9-inch baking dish, then spread 1 cup of the tomato sauce in the bottom. Position half of the eggplant slices, breaded-side up, on top of the sauce, overlapping the slices to fit. Distribute 1/2 cup more sauce over the eggplant and sprinkle with half of the mozzarella. Layer in the remaining eggplant, breaded-side up, and dot with 1 cup more sauce, leaving the majority of the eggplant exposed so it will remain crisp; sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella.

Bake until bubbling and the cheese is browned, about 10 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with the basil and serve, passing the remaining sauce separately.

Per serving: 425 cal.; 25 g pro.; 54 g carb.; 13 g fat (8 sat., 4 monounsat., 1 polyunsat.); 27 mg chol.; 985 mg sod.; 8 g fiber; 14 g sugar; 28 percent calories from fat.