My recipe is one I culled from a litle mom & pop restaurant on Lun Gyland back about 30 years ago. It is called Mulignan a la Sicilian, or Sicilian eggplant in English. It's a bit more complicated than eggplant parmigiana but, IMHO, it is much better, and more impressive to guests.
Mulignan* a la Sicilian
Ingredients:
2 medium sized eggplants
Kosher salt
½ lb ground beef
¼ lb ground pork
¼ lb ground veal
1 quart of homemade tomato sauce (no jarred or canned sauce, please)
1½ cups of Ricotta Cheese
1½ cups of grated Parmesan cheese
2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1 egg
Light olive oil
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375F.
Slice the eggplant about ⅛-inch thick. Place the slices on racks with paper towels underneath. Sprinkle both sides liberally with kosher salt and let stand fifteen minutes. Rinse thoroughly under cold running water, place on dry paper towels and pat dry.
While the eggplant is purging, combine the beef, pork and veal and brown them in light olive oil. Mix the ground meat with enough of your sauce to create a thick "sloppy joe" consistency, heat through, and set aside to cool.
Mix the three cheeses and the egg together in a large bowl, reserving ½ cup of the mozzarella cheese.
In a non-stick skillet, lightly brown the eggplant slices in olive oil on both sides. The eggplant will really soak up the oil, so use it sparingly.
Lightly cover the bottom of a 13- x 9-inch baking dish (you can use large ramekins to make individual servings) with tomato sauce. Place eggplant slices in an overlapping single layer on the bottom of the baking dish. Divide ½ of the meat mixture and ½ of the cheese mixture evenly over the eggplant slices. Add a second layer of overlapping eggplant slices and evenly distribute the remaining meat mixture and the remaining cheese mixture over the eggplant slices. Add the remaining eggplant slices and cover them with sauce and the reserved ½ cup of mozzarella, and cover the baking dish with aluminum foil, sprayed with non-stick spray, sprayed side down.
Bake, covered, at 375F for 45 minutes, remove the foil, and bake for an additional 15 minutes, until the mozzarella is brown and bubbly. Let stand for 15 to 30 minutes. Serve with the remaining tomato sauce.
* Yes, I am fully aware of the derogatory connotation of this word, but in the Sicilian dialect, which is what I speak, it means eggplant. Always has, always will.