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Recipes

This Italian Parmigiana Will Up Your Dinner Game

This article is written by a student writer from the Spoon University at AUC chapter.

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

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time:1 hour Cook time: 30 minutesTotal time:1 hour 30 minutesServings:4 servings

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Photo by Wendy Nieuwkamer

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

  2. Photo by Wendy Nieuwkamer

    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.

  3. Photo by Wendy Nieuwkamer

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

  4. Photo by Wendy Nieuwkamer

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

  5. Photo by Wendy Nieuwkamer

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

  6. Photo by Wendy Nieuwkamer

    Rinse the eggplant slices and dry them with kitchen towels.

  7. Photo by Wendy Nieuwkamer

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

  8. Photo by Wendy Nieuwkamer

    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.

  9. Photo by Wendy Nieuwkamer

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

As a foodie who gets a random assortment of veggies every two weeks and has a mild peanut and tree nut allergy I often get creative in the kitchen. Of course all this creativity has to be documented, so you will probably see some of my own pictures accompanying my articles and recipes.