Italian Eggplant Bake (Melanzane alla Parmigiana)
recipe

A delicious layered Italian eggplant dish that combines savory tomato sauce, fried eggplant, and two types of cheese. This dish takes a bit of time, but it’s worth it!
Preparation Time: About 2 hours
Serving Size: 4 servings

Ingredients:

- 2 eggplants
- Salt (for sweating the eggplants)
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour or gluten-free flour blend
- Olive oil (for frying the eggplants)
- 1 ball of mozzarella cheese
- Handful of Parmesan or Pecorino cheese
- Handful of fresh basil leaves
- 800 g canned crushed tomatoes (2 cans)
- About 100 ml water
- 1 tablespoon olive oil (for sauce)
- 1 small onion
- 1 clove garlic
- 1-2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- About 1 teaspoon salt

Instructions:

1. Cut off the tops of the eggplants and slice them lengthwise into ½ cm thick slices. Sprinkle salt on the slices and let them sweat for about 30 minutes.
2. Pat the eggplant slices dry with paper towels. Dust a little flour over one side of the slices and fry them in a generous amount of olive oil in a pan on both sides. Place the fried slices on paper towels to drain.
3. While the eggplants are sweating, prepare the tomato sauce. Finely chop the onion and garlic. Sauté them in olive oil over medium heat. Add the crushed tomatoes and water (rinse the cans with water). Stir in vinegar, sugar, and salt. Let it simmer gently for about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Assemble the bake: In a baking dish, layer the eggplant slices, tear some mozzarella over the top, spread a layer of sauce, sprinkle Parmesan, and add a few torn basil leaves. Repeat until all ingredients are used, finishing with a layer of tomato sauce on top.
5. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C (350°F) for about 40 minutes. In the last few minutes of baking, you can add a bit more Parmesan or mozzarella on top.
6. Allow the dish to cool slightly before serving. Serve warm.

Nutritional Information (per serving, approximately 4 servings):

- Energy: 350 kcal
- Protein: 15 g
- Carbohydrates: 24 g
- Fat: 20 g
- Fiber: 5 g
- Salt: 0.8 g

Reviews: 3.18 (860 reviews) ★★★★★ share