Traditional eggplant parmigiana: a step-by-step recipe!

Ingredients

• 1.32 lb (600 g) eggplant
• 1¾ cups (450 ml) tomato sauce
• 2 oz (60 g) grated Parmesan
• 1 onion (about 60 g)
• 7 oz (200 g) mozzarella
• Basil, to taste

For frying:

• Vegetable oil

Materials

• 23 × 15 cm baking dish
• Pot
• Frying pan

Preparation

• First, remove the excess water from the mozzarella. Cut it into small cubes of equal size, then transfer it to a colander placed over a bowl. Let it drip while you prepare the other ingredients for the parmigiana (from time to time you can press lightly with a fork to help the milk flow out).
• Prepare the tomato sauce:
  Finely chop the onion, pour some olive oil into a pot and, once it is hot, add the onion. Sauté for a few minutes.
  
• Add the tomato sauce, a few basil leaves, season with salt and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, wash the eggplants and cut off the ends. Slice them lengthwise with a thickness of about 5 mm (you can also use an adjustable mandolin).
  
• Heat the vegetable oil in a deep-sided frying pan and fry the eggplant slices in batches.
• As soon as they are golden, drain them and let them rest on absorbent paper.
  
• Assemble the parmigiana:
  Pour a little tomato sauce into the bottom of your baking dish, then make the first layer with eggplant.
• Cover them with tomato sauce, add the pieces of mozzarella and sprinkle generously with grated parmesan.
  
• Continue layering in this order (a good parmigiana should have at least 3 layers), and remember that the final layer should be arranged in this order: mozzarella, tomato sauce and plenty of Parmesan.
• Bake the parmigiana in the oven preheated to 390°F (200°C) for about 30 minutes.
  
• Remove the parmigiana from the oven and let it rest at room temperature for about ten minutes before serving, so it can set. The eggplant parmigiana is ready!

Cookware

Attributes

Questions

Photos of members who cooked this recipe