To make tomato sauce, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion. Cook, stirring often, until onion is tender an translucent, about 5 minutes.

Add garlic and stir to cook until fragrant, about a minute. Add tomato paste and stir until the garlic and onions are well coated in the paste. Add tomatoes, with their juices, along with the kosher salt, pepper, and basil sprigs. Increase heat to medium-high to bring sauce to a vigorous simmer. Stir and reduce heat to medium. Cook, stirring often, until tomatoes have cooked down, about 15 to 25 minutes. Remove basil sprigs; taste and adjust seasoning.

Spoon sauce into blender and blend on medium low speed until smooth. If desired, you can pulse sauce to leave as chunky a texture as desired.

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Line 2 sheet pans with parchment and paper towels. Trim ends off zucchini and cut in half crosswise, then into lengthwise slices, about ¼ to ⅓ inch thick. Season both sides with kosher salt. Cover with another layer of paper towels and allow to sit about 10 minutes to draw out any moisture from the zucchini. The paper towels will help to drain any excess moisture to ensure a crispy fried zucchini for the baked dish. Preheat a large cast iron skillet with about an inch of frying oil.

Prepare your dredging station using three shallow bowls or plates. Bowl/plate 1: Mix together 1 cup all-purpose flour with ½ teaspoon ground black pepper, kosher salt, and ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes. Bowl/plate 2: Whisk together eggs and egg whites until well combined. Bowl/plate 3: measure out 1.5 cups of Italian seasoned bread crumbs. Line up the bowls in that order so that you have the flour station first, egg station second, and bread crumbs third.

To fry the zucchini: take a slice of the zucchini and coat in the flour mixture. Next, dunk the flour coated zucchini in the egg mixture. Finally, coat the zucchini in the bread crumbs. Fry zucchini, 3 or 4 slices at a time, about 3 to 5 minutes on each side—or until each side is golden brown and crispy. Remove fried zucchini slices and place them on a baking sheet lined with fresh paper towels to drain excess oil. Repeat until all slices are fried.

To assemble the dish, oil a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with olive oil. Spread ¼ cup tomato sauce over bottom of dish. Arrange 3 to 4 zucchini slices in an even layer over the tomato sauce. Spoon a third of remaining sauce over zucchini and sprinkle with ¼ cup parmesan and Mozzarella. Repeat with 2 more layers, ending with the remaining parmesan and mozzarella. Drizzle with olive oil to help with browning while baking. Bake for approximately 35 to 40 minutes, until golden brown and bubbly around the edges. Remove from heat, garnish with chopped fresh basil leaves. Cool slightly for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.