Ciao ragazzi!
The issue of "to breadcrumb" or "not to breadcrumb" before frying is a highly-debated one, and as evidenced by our posting participants, there are strong opinions on the subject. I believe the issue seems to be whether you are making the true "Melanzane alla Parmigiana", the true dish from Naples or whether you are making "Eggplant Parmesan", the dish found in America, now immortalized throughout the nation most probably having been born around the NY area in Italian-American kitchens.
I am with Archiduc on this one. Having worked as a chef in italian kitchens (outside the U.S.), I know that Melanzane alla Parmigiana calls for frying the eggplant slices with no breadcrumbs adhered to them. They are usually patted dry after having been salted/drained, sometimes lightly coated in flour (sometimes not), then dropped in the very hot oil, when cooked through (less than a minute), they are placed on absorbent paper to soak up excess oil so they can be later used in layering the dish.
In reference to DramaQueen's post of having referenced Italian cookbooks, there is no doubt indeed that the dish known as "Eggplant Parmesan" in America does call for the breadcrumb coating prior to frying and that is the dish we come to know here. Now, even though Lydia Mattichio Bastianich is an Italian woman and chef, she came to America and started her restaurants serving Italian-American cuisine in the NY area upon coming to this continent. In fact, her most popular selling cookbook is "Lydia's Italian-American Kitchen". These contain the "classics" that are known "on this side of the pond". Although I am not very sure about Biba Caggiano, I do believe her story is similar. And as for the other cookbooks, well, I dont know but I would be willing to bet they were published for the American market.
I am a cookbook collector myself and have referenced most of the better-known ones, and own a ton of them. So I took a peek at two just now. Marcella Hazan, an Italian chef, is well-regarded as the authority on english-written Italian cookbooks - the Julia Child of the cucina italiana, if you will. I just referenced the "
Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking" and Mario Batali's "
Molto Italiano" and both call for the non-breading procedure. Other authoritative true Italian chefs that come to mind are Ada Boni and Giuliano Bugialli, if you care to dig into Italian cuisine any further. On a side note, it is quite interesting to note that Lydia's son, Joe Bastianich, is actually Mario Batali's restaurant partner, together they own and operate "Babbo Ristorante".
I have elaborated on this thread because La Cucina Italiana is a subject that is dear to my heart, and any chance I get to further help people learn and appreciate it, I will take it! I hope this clarifies some of the confusion regarding this recipe. And don't get me started on "scampi" or "pepperoni"!!! Ciao!!