Eggplant (or Aubergine) Parmigiana is one of my favourite vegetarian dishes. If we were eating out Italian and it was on the menu, I would always order it. Then I decided to make it myself and fine tune a version that we enjoy at home. I use my roasted tomatoes (blitzed) recipe for the required tomato sauce. To make the parmigiana requires layering eggplant slices, tomato sauce, mozzarella and parmesan cheeses with some herb and olive oil breadcrumbs. It is worth the effort – it is just delicious! I hope you enjoy it too.
Tomato sauce
1kg Roma tomatoes, halved lengthways
4 or 5 garlic cloves, unpeeled
¼ cup fresh oregano leaves
2 tablespoons basil leaves
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Eggplant layers
2 medium-large eggplants – cut lengthways to about ¾ – 1cm slices
Extra virgin olive oil for brushing eggplant
150 grams mozzarella cheese, torn or cut into thin pieces
100 grams parmesan cheese, grated
Breadcrumbs
60 grams fresh breadcrumbs (or panko)
1 tablespoon fresh herbs (basil, thyme, oregano, parsley)
Salt and peppers
2-3 tablespoons olive oil for light frying
Fresh basil leaves to serve
To make sauce, preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius. Arrange the tomatoes cut-side up in a roasting pan. Top with the unpeeled garlic cloves and oregano and basil leaves. Drizzle with olive oil and season with freshly ground black pepper.
Roast for 1 hour or until the tomatoes are tender. Once cooled blitz in a kitchen whizz to a chunky sauce like consistency. Set aside.
While the tomatoes are roasting, brush the eggplant slices lightly with olive oil and fry on a griddle pan on each side until golden. Set aside.
To make the breadcrumb mix, heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add breadcrumbs, chopped fresh herbs and salt and pepper. Fry turning until golden in colour. Set aside.
You will need an oven dish approximately 30 x 20 cm and a minimum of 5 cm high to take 3-4 layers.
Start by spreading a thin layer of tomato sauce on the bottom of the dish. Add a layer of eggplant slices, top with mozzarella slices and a small handful of parmesan cheese. Sprinkle with some of the breadcrumbs and then repeat the layers finishing with tomato sauce on top. Scatter remaining cheeses over tomato sauce, reserving any breadcrumbs for serving.
Bake for 30 minutes until golden. Serve with the extra breadcrumbs scattered on top and fresh basil leaves.
Serves 4 as a side dish or 2 as a main.
