Provolone, roasted eggplant the perfect updates to classic eggplant parm recipe

Growing up, my mom never made anything with eggplant, ever. That means that I did not really cook an eggplant until I was in my mid-20s, after my brother Tom, the chef, made and shared an eggplant-based spaghetti sauce. That sauce was outstanding, with a meaty texture and extraordinary flavor.

My life partner, Nan, has been cooking with eggplant for decades, and her premiere eggplant dish is eggplant parmigiana.

Nan told me that, at one time, she had an eggplant parm recipe that called for an astonishing 2 cups of olive oil in which the eggplant was to be sauteed in preparation for an eggplant parm. The eggplant slices were dredged in seasoned flour and acted like round sponges absorbing a lot of that oil.

For all the time I have known her, Nan's steered clear of excess fat in her diet; making that ocean of olive oil in that eggplant parm recipe one she always avoided.

Nan used to "sweat" eggplant for her parm. Nan's sweating method required laying out some newspapers, laying paper towels on top of the newspaper and then laying out the eggplant slices. She would then salt the slices and let them "sweat" for a half-hour. Then she blotted the water droplets from their surface, turned the slices over and repeated the process. Talk about high hassle.

That is what led Nan to preparing eggplant for her eggplant parm by broiling eggplant slices; boosting the flavor and reducing the water (raw eggplant is 92% water) so the eggplant was not soggy at the end. Smart.

Nan had not made eggplant parm for quite a while, and saw a recipe that used provolone cheese instead of mozzarella cheese and decided to make her eggplant parm that way, as well as roasting the eggplant slices brushed with a hint of olive oil.

These days, authentic extra-virgin olive oil ranks near the top of the list of healthy oils.

Nan believes that an eggplant's skin is bitter and should be removed. Good idea.

Nan decided to try oven-roasting the slices to lose the water; letting the oven do the work. It worked well and was a lot less messy and lower hassle than other methods.

How did Nan's new version of eggplant parm turn out? I loved the gooey, melty provolone in the layers, as well as the provolone's flavor, much better than mozzarella.

Yes, it is still higher hassle, but well-worth the effort.

Give it a try.

• Don Mauer welcomes questions, comments and recipe makeover requests. Write to him at 1leanwizard@gmail.com.

Nan's Eggplant Parm

Extra-virgin olive oil

5 1-pound globe eggplants

Kosher salt and fresh-ground black pepper

1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped

5 garlic cloves, sliced thin

1 tablespoon dried basil

1 (28-ounce) can fire-roasted crushed tomatoes (organic preferred)

1 (24-ounce) jar spaghetti sauce (organic preferred)

1 pound sliced provolone cheese

3 ounces (1½ cups) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Place the oven racks in upper- and lower-middle positions and begin heating the oven to 425 degrees.

Add several tablespoons of olive oil to a bowl and, using a brush, brush 2 rimmed baking sheets with the oil. Set aside.

Trim the stem ends off the eggplants and, using a vegetable peeler, peel the skins from the eggplants. Cut the eggplants crosswise into ¼-inch-thick rounds and arrange the rounds on the baking sheets, slightly overlapping (they'll shrink).

Lightly brush the eggplant rounds with oil. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper and roast until the slices are browned in spots, about 20 minutes.

Remove the pans from the oven and, using a spatula, turn the slices over and return the pans to the oven, reversing (top to bottom) their rack positions. Continue roasting about 25 minutes, or until they have given up most of their water. Remove from the oven and carefully pour off any liquid in the pan's bottom.

While the eggplant's roasting: Place a large saucepan over medium heat and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil; heating until the oil shimmers. Add the onion, garlic, dried basil and ½ teaspoon kosher salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent, about 5 to 6 minutes. Stir in the crushed tomatoes, spaghetti sauce and ½ teaspoon pepper. Bring to a simmer, then reduce to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Take the pan off the heat and let cool for 15 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Add 1 cup of the tomato sauce to a 9-by-13-inch baking dish; spreading to cover the bottom. Arrange one-third of the eggplant on top of the tomato sauce (they can overlap), and then evenly distribute half the provolone slices and sprinkle with ⅓ cup Parmesan. Spoon about 1 cup tomato sauce over the cheese; spreading it evenly. Distribute half of the remaining eggplant, followed by the remaining provolone, and ⅓ cup of the remaining Parmesan. Spoon on another 1 cup sauce and layer on the remaining eggplant. Cover with the remaining sauce, spreading it evenly, then sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan.

Bake on the lower rack until the edges are bubbling and the cheese is melted, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and rest for about 10 minutes. Serves 8.

SaltSense: The majority of the sodium comes from the provolone cheese and the spaghetti sauce. Want to reduce the sodium? Eliminate added salt, use no-salt added spaghetti sauce and reduce the amount of provolone cheese.

Nutrition values per serving: 468 calories (56.2% from fat), 29.2 g fat (12.8 g saturated fat), 28 g carbohydrates (16.1 net carbs), 13.7 g sugars, 11.9 g fiber, 23 g protein, 49 mg cholesterol, 1247 mg sodium.

Courtesy of Nan Martin