Eggplants Parmigiana

Eggplant Parmigiana is one of those great Italian comfort foods. Few ingredients, lots of flavor for a dish that is a symbol of Mediterranean area.

Parmigiana is the queen of unique dishes, whose origin is disputed from north to south of Italy and each region with some variations of ingredients and composition.

It seems that the name “Parmigiana” would derive from the Sicilian “Parmiciana”, which in dialect indicates a stack of wooden strips of the shutters: in fact, it looks like the slices of eggplants are placed in the casserole.

Servings = 6 pax    –    Prep. Time = 1 h 30 mins   –  Baking Time = 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 5 big eggplants (purple and roundish);
• 1 kg. red tomatoes – or 600 ml. tomato sauce
• 100 gr. parmesan cheese
• 200 gr. mozzarella
• 1/2 onion
• 1 garlic clove
• Basil leaves
• Extra virgin Olive Oil
• Sunflower oil to fry
• Salt
• 1 pinch sugar

DIRECTIONS

First of all, wash your eggplants, dry them an cut in 1cm high slices. After having sprinkled with large salt, let them drain the liquid into a colander for about 1 hour.

In the meantime prepare the sauce. Finely chop onion and garlic and brown them in a pan with 2 spoons of extra virgin olive oil. Add chopped tomatoes and adjust with a pinch of salt and sugar; continue to cook for about 15 minutes, then set aside covered and sprinkled with some basil leaves.

Take a large pan and pur oil to fry the eggplants. Once fried place the slices on absorbent paper so that they can lose excess oil.

Take a baking rectangular oven casserole and sprinkle with a base oil and tomato sauce, then place a layer of eggplants fried slices, a layer of tomatoes sauce, a layer of parmesan cheese and mozzarella and some basil leaves.

Repeat creating more liars.

Cook in preheated oven at 180 ° for 30 minutes.

Allow to cool before serving.