Use a mandolin or chef's knife to slice the eggplant into very thin slices. Arrange one layer in the bottom of a large colander and sprinkle evenly with salt. Repeat with remaining eggplant, salting, until all eggplant is in the colander.

Weigh down the slices with a couple of plates and let drain for 2 hours. The purpose of this is to drain the moisture from the eggplant before cooking it.

While the eggplant is draining, prepare the simple tomato sauce. Add the tomatoes, garlic, basil, and olive oil to a saucepan and cook on medium heat for about 10 - 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

After about 2 hours, take the eggplant and press down on it to remove excess water, wipe off the excess salt, and lay the slices out on paper towels to remove all the moisture.

In a wide, shallow bowl or container, add the bread crumbs. Dip each slice of eggplant in the bowl and coat with bread crumbs on both sides. Pan fry or deep fry each slice in olive oil until golden brown.

Place the fried eggplant slice on paper towels to absorb excess oil.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. In the bottom of a baking dish, spread a layer of tomato sauce. Add a layer of eggplant slices, then ricotta, then shredded mozzarella. Repeat these layers until the baking dish is full (or you run out of eggplant).

Bake uncovered for about 60 minutes. Allow to rest at room temperature for about 10 minutes before serving.