Eggplant Parmigiana
Eggplant parmigiana is a delicious combination of lightly pan fried eggplants, creamy mozzarella and parmesan cheese encased in a robust Italian style tomato sauce, layered and then baked in the oven. The perfect supper time treat. Excellent on its own with a green salad and farmhouse style bread or as an accompaniment to pasta, roast chicken or lamb.
‘Buona Mangiata’
4
45-60 mins
25-30 mins
180ºC
Ingredients
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1kg small eggplant
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Sea salt
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Extra virgin olive oil- for frying
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Plain flour- for dusting
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400g fresh buffalo or cow’s milk mozzarella- cut into 3 mm thick slices
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3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
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Small handful basil leaves- torn
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Tomato sauce
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800g tinned chopped roma tomatoes (plum)
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200g cherry tomatoes
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1½ tbsp extra virgin olive oil
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2 garlic cloves- finely diced
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1½ tsp caster sugar
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sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Instructions
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Make tomato sauce:
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01 Combine the tomatoes and their juice, the oil, garlic and sugar in a saucepan and season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Simmer over medium heat until reduced by half. Adjust the seasoning if necessary.
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Prepare eggplants:
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02 Cut the eggplant into 1 cm thick slices lengthways. Place the slices into a colander, sprinkle with salt and let stand for 1 hour. Rinse the eggplant to remove the salt and pat dry with paper towel.
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Saute eggplants:
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03 Heat a shallow layer of oil in a frying pan, dust the eggplant slices in flour and plenty of freshly ground black pepper. shake off any excess flour.
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04 Shallow-fry the eggplant, in batches, until golden brown on both sides, then drain on paper towel.
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Assemble:
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05 Lightly grease a 2.25 litre baking dish and line the base with a layer of fried eggplant. Spread with some tomato sauce, then scatter with a little of the mozzarella, Parmesan and basil leaves. Repeat this process twice, then finish with a final layer of eggplant (see image 2).
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Cook:
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06 Bake the parmigiana in a preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until well cooked through, golden brown and bubbling.
Notes
The preparation of this dish is rather time consuming as each slice of aubergine does have to be pan fried first before the final bake but I assure you the preparation is well worth the end result. I often make this recipe the night before and have even frozen once assembled to cook at a later date.
