Eggplant Gratin

We have eggplant coming out the wazoo in our garden, and I've been trying to make different recipes so we don't get board with the same ones. I thought this gratin was so good... sinfully good. Unfortunately Aubrey realized he doesn't like the seeds in the eggplants. Otherwise, he said he would have liked the dish (::sigh::). So far the only way he likes eggplants is fried. I'll work on that. :)

Ingredients:
Olive oil, for frying
3/4 pound eggplant, unpeeled, sliced 1/2-inch thick
1/4 cup ricotta cheese
1 extra large egg
1/4 cup half-and-half
1/2 cup plus 2 Tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
Salt
Black pepper
1/2 cup good bottled marinara sauce

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400-degrees.
Heat about 1/8-inch of olive oil in a very large frying pan over medium heat. When the oil is almost smoking, add several slices of eggplant and cook, turning once, until they are evenly browned on both sides and cooked through, about 5 minutes. Be careful, it splatters! Transfer the cooked eggplant slices to paper towels to drain. Add more oil, heat, and add more eggplant until all the slices are cooked.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together the ricotta, egg, half-and-half, 1/4 cup of the Parmesan, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper.

In a pie dish, place a layer of eggplant slices, then sprinkle with 2 tablespoons Parmesan, salt and pepper and spoon 1/2 of the marinara sauce and 1/2 of the ricotta mixture. Next, add a second layer of eggplant, more salt and pepper, the rest of the marinara sauce, the rest of the ricotta mixture, and the rest of the Parmesan.

Source: Food Network