Parmigiana di Melanzane
This is a classic Italian dish made with layers of eggplant. The fact that the eggplant is fried, removed it from the healthy category.
Ingredients (for 6 persons)
- 2 aubergines
- ~8 tomatoes
- 3 cloves of garlic
- Basil. A lot!
- Parmigiano Reggiano
- Mozzarella (1 or 2 balls)
- Olive oil, salt, pepper
Steps
Prepping the eggplant
- Slice the eggplant lengthwise. Slices should be 0.5 - 0.8cm thick
- To drain the water, salt both sides of the slices and place them in a grid.
- After ~30min to 1 hour, rinse them to remove the salt.
- Dry the slices with absorbent paper
- Prepare a hot pan with neutral oil
- Cover each slice with flour and fry them in the pan
- Once it’s fried, remove the extra oil with absorbent paper
The fried eggplant is crispy on the outside and soft and creamy on the inside
Prepping the tomato sauce
- In a hot pan, put the tomato and garlic.
- Reduce until it’s a slightly chunky and thick sauce. You can help yourself with a hand blender.
The Parmigiana
- In a baking dish add some tomato sauce in the bottom
- Cover everything with eggplant
- Add one layer of chopped basil
- Add one layer of parmesan and mozzarella (1/2 ball)
- Repeat until you run out of eggplant.
- Finish with a big layer of parmesan
- Bake for 30-40 mins at 180℃. You know it’s ready when the top becomes melted and bubbly