Italians Cook It Better 
Italian Classics 
Kid's Favourites 
Occasions 
- Preparation time
- 90
- Cooking time
- 30
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
- 2 lbs 1 kg eggplants
- 28 oz 800 gr fresh, peeled tomatoes
- 1 lb 500 gr sliced into thin rounds mozzarella cheese
- 2 cups 200 gr freshly grated Parmesan Cheese
- 1 medium 1 medium sliced Onion
- 10 basil leaves 10 basil leaves fresh Basil Leaves
- to fry to fry Seed Oil
- 1 clove 1 clove peeled and minced Garlic
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Preparation
Cut eggplants lengthwise into thin slices. Arrange them in a large colander and sprinkle evenly with salt, and let drain for 1 hour, to let them release some of their moisture before frying.
While the eggplants are draining, prepare tomato sauce. In a large, heavy sauce pan, or better in a pressure cooker heat ¼ cup of extra virgin olive oil with tomatoes, garlic, and onion. Season with salt and pepper and let cook over medium heat of 1 hour (20 minutes if using a pressure cooker).
When eggplant has drained, remove the excess of water and salt, laying them on paper towels. In a large frying pan heat the oil. When oil is shimmering, fry the eggplant slices until golden brown on both sides, turning once. Drain on paper towels.
Preheat the oven to 200°C/ 400F/ gas 6. Fill a square ovenproof casserole, alternating layers of eggplant and a layers of tomato sauce and mozzarella. Sprinkle each layer with one some of the Parmesan cheese and basil. Top with the tomato sauce and Parmesan.
Bake for 20 minutes or until cheese has melted and the top is slightly golden. Serve warm, after resting at room temperature for a while.
Notes
Eggplants Parmigiana is a classic Sicilian casserole, that will satisfy even the most picky eaters. There are many different ways to fry eggplant, some people dredge the eggplant in beaten eggs on in flour, but I think this recipe is a little bit “lighter”.
This recipe will take while with all the frying: if you stay nearby, it seems eggplant slices never get ready, but if you are far from the frying pan they cook too quickly! In any case, it will worth it: results will be great and anyone will like this dish!
If you dislike eggplants, you can try to prepare a good variation using zucchini. My babysitter used to do that, and it worked perfectly!
This recipe has been selected to contribute to the Expo 2015 World Recipes the global and crowdsourced cookbook gathering the best traditional recipes from all over the world.
Definitely, what a splendid site. Very tasty recipe. Leftovers are even better.
My hubby recommended I might like this web site. He was entirely right. This recipe truly made my day. Takes a bit to prepare but stunning indeed
I’ve been basically making this same casserole off and on for years. It’s something most everyone will enjoy. It’s fairly easy, even for the beginner cook and affordable.
I made a few changes, I used ricotta cheese in the middle. New fav!
I was very skeptical of this recipe due to the lack of spices and its simplicity…but I like to try the recipes the way they are written before I make any changes so…I cant believe it didnt need any spices!
thanks for your review, Pauline
I made this because I needed to feed 8 people. This recipe is out of this world!! All present voted it the BEST.
I put this recipe in my Once a Month Cooking file.