Eggplant Parmigiana
How do you make classic eggplant parmigiana?
Slice the eggplants, salt them to draw out moisture, and grill them. Prepare a tomato sauce with sautéed onion. In a baking dish, alternate layers of sauce, grilled eggplant, Parmesan, and mozzarella until the ingredients are used up. Cover with foil and bake at 180°C for 45 minutes; uncover and brown for 15 more minutes.
This recipe is a flavorful dish that, accompanied by a delicious salad, makes a one-dish meal we will love. It is known as Eggplant Parmigiana or Eggplant Parmesan, and several Italian cities—Sicily, Naples, and Parma—claim its origin. Whatever the truth may be, the important thing is that we can enjoy this extraordinary delicacy. This is a lighter version; in the original, the eggplants are fried. In this version, the flavor and indulgence are still fully present, so to make it a little lighter I decided to grill them.
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Servings: Serves 6-8
Ingredients
- 1 kg eggplants
- 750 g tomato pulp
- 400 g mozzarella or any melting cheese you like
- 1 small white onion
- 150 g – 200 g Parmesan cheese
- Extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
Start by cutting the eggplants into slices about 1 cm thick.
Place them in a large colander and sprinkle with a little coarse salt. Let them rest for about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, finely chop the onion. Then, in a small high-sided pot, pour in a couple of tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and sauté the onion over low heat until translucent. Add the tomato pulp, stir, and continue cooking over low heat for about 30 minutes. It should become thick. Turn off the heat, add salt to taste, and add a few finely chopped fresh basil leaves. Set aside.
Rinse the eggplant slices and dry them well.
Heat a nonstick grill pan and place the eggplants on it. Cook over medium heat for about 4-5 minutes, until well cooked.
Turn and cook for another 4-5 minutes. Repeat until all the eggplant slices are cooked. Set aside.
Meanwhile, slice the mozzarella or cheese. If using mozzarella, place it in a colander so its own liquid can drain. Set aside.
Once all the ingredients are ready, start assembling. Grease a Pyrex dish or a high-sided baking dish with a little extra virgin olive oil. Mine is 30 x 22 cm.
Start by spreading a first layer of sauce.
Then add a layer of grilled eggplant, arranging the slices very close together, slightly overlapping.
Add another layer of sauce.
Continue with a generous sprinkling of Parmesan cheese.
Now add a few slices of melting cheese, either mozzarella or another cheese of your choice.
Start preheating the oven to 180°C (350°F). Once the first layer of parmigiana is ready, repeat the process (eggplant, sauce, Parmesan, and mozzarella) until you finish with a layer of tomato sauce and a generous sprinkling of Parmesan cheese. Drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil over the Parmesan at the end.
Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes. Then remove the foil and cook for another 15 minutes, until golden.
When our parmigiana is golden, remove it from the oven and let it rest for about 10 minutes before serving very hot, so it firms up. Note: It can be cooked and eaten immediately, or prepared and kept refrigerated for up to 2 days; heat before serving.
Enjoy your meal!
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- 1 kg eggplants
- 750 g tomato pulp
- 400 g mozzarella or any melting cheese you like
- 1 small white onion
- 150 g – 200 g Parmesan cheese
- Extra virgin olive oil