INGREDIENTS
- ½ tbsp olive oil
- 1 white onion
- 1.5 pounds of pureed tomatoes (passata) with chunky texture (700 grams)
- 2 large aubergines/eggplant around (700 grams/ 1.5 pounds)
- Small bunch of basil
- 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
- flour for dusting
INSTRUCTIONS
Step 1: Place the thinly sliced eggplant/aubergines in a colander and sprinkle with salt. Keep them aside for about an hour.
Step 2: For the tomato sauce, start by finely chopping 1 onion. In a pan with olive oil, saute the onion until translucent and tender but not browned. Next, add the pureed tomatoes (tomato passata), basil, salt, and pepper. Stir well and gently simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes. Set aside.
Step 3: Under cold water, rinse the slices of eggplant. Using kitchen towels, pat the eggplant slices dry. Then, dust them with flour. Shake any excess off and fry in sunflower oil for a couple of seconds on each side. To remove any excess oil, transfer the eggplant slices to kitchen paper.
Step 4: Prepare the oven. Preheat it to 180 degrees C or 350 degrees F or gas mark 4. For this recipe, I used an 11 x 18-inch oval dish. Although, you can use a rectangle or square dish around the same size.
Step 5: Into the bottom of the prepared baking dish, spoon and spread a small amount of tomato sauce. On top, layer the eggplant and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, and mozzarella cubes, and season with pepper. Over the layers, add a few spoons of tomato sauce (reserve about 1/3 of the sauce for the final layer). Repeat until there is one top layer left. Finally, spoon the rest of the tomato sauce and top with Parmesan and mozzarella. Loosely tent with foil and place in the preheated oven. Bake for about 20 minutes. Uncover and continue to bake for 20 minutes more or until golden, and the top is bubbling.
Step 6: Remove from the oven when done and allow the Parmigiana di Melanazane to rest for about 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy!