Melanzane alla Parmigiana Recipe

Melanzane alla Parmigiana Recipe

Traditional eggplant parmigiana made with salted and fried eggplant layered with thick tomato sugo, mozzarella, Parmigiano and basil.

5 from 1 vote

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Course: Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine: Italian, vegetarian

Keyword: baked eggplant, eggplant parmigana

Cook Time: 1 50

Servings: people

Calories: 315kcal

Equipment

30cm × 24cm baking dish
large frying pan
Paper towel

Ingredients

3 large eggplants 1.2–1.4kg total, sliced lengthways 5–7mm thick
2 teaspoons fine sea salt
Plain flour for light dusting
Olive oil not extra virgin, for frying
3 to 3½ cups thick tomato sugo see notes
300 g fresh mozzarella drained well and torn into 2–3cm pieces
80 g Parmigiano Reggiano freshly grated
Fresh basil leave

Instructions

Prepare about 3–3½ cups of thick tomato sugo before starting the parmigiana. I use my Authentic Italian Sugo, a slow-cooked tomato sauce made with olive oil, garlic, passata and basil. The sauce should be thick rather than watery.
Slice the eggplants lengthways into 5–7 mm thick slices. Lay the slices on trays and sprinkle evenly with the salt. Leave for 45 minutes until moisture beads on the surface, then pat completely dry with paper towel.
Lightly dust both sides of the eggplant slices with plain flour and shake off the excess.
Pour olive oil into a large frying pan to a depth of about 1 cm and heat over medium heat. Fry the eggplant in batches for 2–3 minutes per side until light golden and tender. Transfer to paper towel to drain.
Preheat the oven to 180°C fan-forced.
Spread 3 tablespoons of sugo over the base of a 30 × 24 cm baking dish.
Arrange a layer of eggplant slices over the base, slightly overlapping so there are no gaps. Spoon a thin layer of sugo over the eggplant, scatter over some mozzarella pieces, sprinkle with Parmigiano and add a few basil leaves.
Repeat the layers two more times: eggplant, sugo, mozzarella, Parmigiano and basil.
Finish with a final layer of eggplant, a thin layer of sugo and a light sprinkle of Parmigiano. Add a few small pieces of mozzarella if you like.
Bake for 35–40 minutes, until bubbling at the edges and lightly golden on top.

Notes

This recipe uses about 3–3½ cups of thick tomato sugo. I use my Authentic Italian Sugo, a slow-cooked tomato sauce made with olive oil, garlic, passata and basil. The full recipe is linked in the article above.

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