PARMIGIANA DI MELANAZANE

Prep Time: 1 hr | Cook Time: 55 mins | Total Time: 1 hr 55 mins | Servings: 6 people

This Parmigiana di Melanazane is a fancy dinner that you can easily whip up any time with layers of fried aubergines/eggplant, tomato sauce, basil, Parmesan, and mozzarella cheese. This amazingly flavorful dish will leave everyone speechless!

INGREDIENTS :

• ½ tbsp olive oil
• 1.5 pounds of pureed tomatoes (passata) with chunky texture (700 grams)
• 2 large aubergines/eggplant around (700 grams/ 1.5 pounds)
• 1 white onion
• ¾ c. Parmesan cheese, freshly grated (70 grams)
• 8.8 ounces mozzarella cheese, cut into cubes (250 grams)
• sunflower oil for frying (around ½ c./125ml)
• salt and pepper to season
• Small bunch of basil
• flour for dusting

DIRECTIONS :

Step 1: Place the thinly sliced eggplant/aubergines in a colander and lightly sprinkle with salt. Set aside for an hour to drain the excess water off.

Step 2: For the simple tomato sauce, begin by finely chopping 1 onion. Place the onion in a pan with olive oil and saute until tender and translucent. Next, add the tomato passata (pureed tomatoes). Torn the basil with your hands and add them to the pan. Season with salt and pepper. Stir and let everything gently simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes. Set aside when done.

Step 3: Under cold water, rinse the slices of eggplant and pat dry using a kitchen towel or paper. Lightly dust the eggplant slices with flour and shake the excess off. In sunflower oil, fry the eggplant slices for a couple of seconds per side. Then, transfer on kitchen paper to drain.

Step 4: Prepare the oven. Preheat it to 180 degrees C or 350 degrees F or gas mark 4. For this recipe, ready an 8 x 11-inch oval dish. You can also use a rectangle or square dish around the same size.

Step 5: Into the bottom of the prepared baking dish, spoon a small amount of tomato sauce. Spread the tomato sauce around. On top, add a single layer of eggplant and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, then top with cubes of mozzarella. Sprinkle everything with some pepper and add a few spoons of tomato sauce on top. Make sure to reserve 1/3 of the sauce for the final layer. Repeat until you only have 1 top layer left.

Step 6: Over the last layer, spoon the rest of the tomato sauce and top with Parmesan and mozzarella. Loosely tent the dish with foil. Place in the preheated oven and bake for about 20 minutes. Uncover and resume baking for additional 20 minutes until the top is golden and bubbling.

Step 7: Remove from the oven when done and allow the dish to rest for about 5 minutes. Step 8: Serve and enjoy!

Nutrition Facts:

Calories: 442 kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 32g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 41mg | Sodium: 497mg | Potassium: 917mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 992IU | Vitamin C: 17mg | Calcium: 396mg | Iron: 3mg