This Italian Parmigiana Will Up Your Dinner Game

Melanzane Parmigiana, or “aubergine schotel” as I call it, has a special spot in my heart as one of the first dishes I learned to cook. While the amount of steps may be overwhelming, I assure you the hardest part is just planning when to make it.

There are many occasions where this dish will steal the show. Serve it with some fresh baked bread for dinner or simply by itself as the perfect potluck dish. No matter how you serve it, you are sure to impress even the most picky (non-vegan) eaters.

Melanzane Parmigiana

• Prep Time:1 hour
• Cook Time:30 minutes
• Total Time:1 hour 30 minutes
• Servings:4
• Medium

Ingredients

• 2 eggplants
• 800 gram diced tomatoes
• 1 onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 cup fresh basil leaves
• 250 gram mozarella
• 50 gram grated parmezan
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper

• Step 1

  Cut the eggplant in long, 1/2 cm thin slices.

  

• Step 2

  Cover the slices with salt on both sides and let them drip out for 30 minutes to an hour. Don’t worry about using to much salt, you will rinse it off later.

  

• Step 3

  Cut the onion and garlic into small pieces (or big ones if you like a chunky sauce).

  

• Step 4

  Saute the onions and garlic in some olive oil until soft and glassy.

  

• Step 5

  Add the diced tomatoes and half the basil to the onions and let it simmer for 15 minutes.

  

• Step 6

  Rinse the eggplant slices and dry them with kitchen towels.

  

• Step 7

  Fry the eggplant in some olive oil until golden brown. Preheat the oven at 180 degrees Celsius if necessary.

  

• Step 8

  Layer the ingredients. Start with some tomato sauce, then a layer of eggplant and top it off with basil, mozzarella and parmigiana. Repeat and end with an extra layer of cheese.

  

• Step 9

  Bake in the oven on 180 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes. For beautiful golden cheese turn up the heat for the last five minutes.