The eggplant season is just around the corner. In summer, eggplants are simply a must in our household. They really are one of our favorite vegetables. Eggplants simply always taste good, whether in a pasta sauce, pureed, grilled or in a delicious casserole such as parmigiana di melanzane.
Melanzane alla Parmigiana is a true classic of Italian cuisine, which is available in different variations. However, the basic ingredient - eggplants (Italian: melanzane) - always remains the same. Depending on the recipe, they are first fried, baked or roasted before being layered with a tomato sauce, mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.
No matter which version you choose - Melanzane alla Parmigiana is always absolutely delicious!
I like to serve this dish with a simple rocket salad. But it can also be served as a side dish with grilled meat or with crusty white bread.
This dish also tastes very good reheated, making it ideal if you want to prepare something tasty.
To prepare this dish, you need to pre-cook the eggplants. I don't drain them beforehand, but if you prefer, you can just lightly salt them and leave them to drain in a colander for about 20 minutes.
I roast the eggplants in the oven for about 30 minutes until they are golden brown and have a pleasant aroma. I brush them with a little olive oil, salt and pepper beforehand. This is how they taste best to me and my family.
While the eggplants are in the oven, I prepare a delicious tomato sauce. Then alternate layers of grilled eggplant slices, sauce, diced mozzarella and parmesan and put the whole thing back in the oven for another half an hour.
The result is simply delicious.
Cooking utensils
- 1 large gratin dish
Ingredients
- 800 gr eggplants approx. 4 of the same size
- 1 TABLESPOON olive oil
- Salt
- Pepper
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves pressed
- 600 ml tomatoes strained
- 400 gr tomatoes chopped
- 1 TABLESPOON tomato puree
- 2 TSP Herbs de Provence
- 1-2 Toothpick Herb oil to taste basil, marjoram, rosemary, thyme, oregano
- 200 gr mozzarella cut into small cubes
- 75 gr Parmesan cheese grated
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees top/bottom heat.
- Wash and trim the eggplants and cut lengthwise into slices approx. 0.5 cm wide. Brush the eggplant slices with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and place on a baking tray lined with baking paper.
- Bake the eggplants in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare the tomato sauce. To do this, finely chop the onions and crush the garlic. Heat the olive oil in a large pan, add the chopped onions and garlic and sauté. Add the tomato purée, the strained and chopped tomatoes. Season with 1 teaspoon of salt, a little pepper and herbes de Provence. Allow the sauce to simmer until the eggplants come out of the oven.
- Add 1-2 toothpicks of herb oils such as basil, marjoram, rosemary, thyme and oregano oil to taste or use some fresh herbs. If you like, you can also add a little pepper oil to create a certain spiciness.
- Drain the mozzarella well and cut into small cubes.
- Preheat the oven again to 200 degrees top/bottom heat.
- Now layer the parmigiana. To do this, spread 2 tbsp of tomato sauce on the bottom of a large gratin dish. Then lay out the first layer of eggplant slices. Sprinkle with a little Parmesan and scatter a few cubes of mozzarella. Continue alternating layers of tomato sauce, eggplants, Parmesan and mozzarella in the gratin dish until all the ingredients have been used up. Finish off the last layer with mozzarella and Parmesan.
- Bake the parmigiana in the middle of the preheated oven for approx. 30 mins. until the casserole is golden brown. Then remove, leave to rest briefly for 5 minutes and arrange on four plates. Serve with crusty white bread.
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