Eggplant Parmigiana



Eggplant parmigiana, also known as melanzane alla parmigiana or Parmigiana di melanzane, is a well-loved Italian classic originating in Naples. There are many versions of eggplant parmigiana and I definitely like them all. The breaded crispy slices of eggplant, the gooey mozzarella, the sharpness of Parmesan cheese all layered in a tomato basil sauce makes this a delectable dish.

The breaded and fried eggplant add a whole extra flavor to the dish, but some people don’t find it necessary, of course for the extra calories, and just choose to roast the eggplant slices.

Eggplant parmigiana is a simple dish, yet tricky because you have to press the liquid out of eggplant as much as possible cause you don’t want mushy slices that won’t fry properly. The time consuming part of the dish is the preparation of the eggplant. The trick then is to remove the excess water in the eggplant and sweat out the bitterness. Sprinkle them with salt, and then lay them in a colander laid on top of a plate, and leave them for about 2 hours.

This goes great with some fresh Italian bread and a garden salad, or with pasta… It also makes outstanding leftover sandwiches!

Buon Appetito! 


Ingredients (serves 6):
2 large eggplants
salt
1 (28-oz) can whole peeled tomatoes
2 garlic cloves
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
4 eggs, beaten
1 lb (400 g) mozzarella, sliced
1 cup grated parmesan
1 cup basil leaves, chopped
pepper

Slice the eggplants. Arrange one layer in the bottom of a large colander and sprinkle evenly with salt. Repeat with remaining eggplant, salting, until all eggplant is in the colander. Weigh down the slices with a couple of plates and let drain for 2 hours. The purpose of this step is to have the eggplant release some of its moisture before cooking.

Meanwhile, prepare the tomato sauce. Combine tomatoes, garlic and 1/3 cup olive oil in a food processor. Season with salt and pepper to taste and set aside.

When eggplant has drained, press down on it to remove excess water, wipe off the excess salt, and lay the slices out on paper towels to remove all the moisture.

In a bowl, combine flour and breadcrumbs. Mix well.
In another bowl, beat the eggs.

In a deep skillet, heat some oil. When hot, dredge eggplant slices in the flour mixture then in the beaten eggs. Working in batches, slide coated eggplant into hot oil and fry until golden brown on both sides, turning once. Drain on paper towels.

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180ºC). In the bottom of a baking dish, spread 1 cup of tomato sauce. Top with one third of the eggplant slices. Top eggplant with half of the mozzarella slices. Sprinkle with one third of the Parmesan and half of the basil leaves.

Make a second layer of eggplant slices, topped by 1 cup of sauce, remaining mozzarella, half the remaining Parmesan, and all of the remaining basil. Add remaining eggplant, and top with the remaining tomato sauce and Parmesan.

Bake until cheese has melted and the top is slightly brown, about 30 minutes. Allow to rest at room temperature for about 10 minutes before serving.



Aubergines à la parmigiana

Ingrédients (6 personnes):
2 grandes aubergines
sel
1 boîte de tomates concassées
2 gousses d'ail
75 ml d'huile d'olive
60 g de farine
60 g de chapelure
4 œufs, battus
400 g de mozzarella, coupé
200 g de Parmesan
1 tasse de basilic, haché
poivre noir

Coupez les aubergines en rondelles. Disposez une couche dans le fond d'une grande passoire et saupoudrez avec du sel. Répétez l'opération avec les aubergines restantes, salez, jusqu'à épuisement des aubergines. Disposez au dessous une assiette et laissez égoutter pendant 2 heures. Le but de cette étape est d'extraire le maximum d'eau des aubergines avant la cuisson.

Pendant ce temps, préparez la sauce tomate. Mixez les tomates, l'ail et l'huile d'olive dans un blender. Assaisonnez de sel et de poivre. Réservez.

Quand les aubergines ont bien dégorgé, pressez-les pour extraire l'eau et l'excès de sel. Placez-les sur du papier absorbant pour enlever toute l'humidité.

Dans un bol, mélangez la farine et la chapelure.
Dans un autre bol, battez les œufs.

Dans une gran de sauteuse, faites chauffer un peu d'huile. Passez les aubergines dans le mélange farine/chapelure puis dans l'œuf battu. Faites frire les tranches des deux côtés. Continuez ainsi jusqu'à ce que toutes les tranches soient dorées. Égouttez-les sur du papier absorbant.

Préchauffez le four à 180ºC. Dans un plat allant au four, mettez la sauce tomate au fond, disposez dessus le tiers des tranches d'aubergines. Étalez la moitié des tranches de mozzarella. Saupoudrez du tiers de Parmesan et de la moitié des feuilles de basilic hachées.

Etalez une deuxième couche d'aubergines, ajoutez de la sauce tomate, le reste de la mozzarella et la moitié du parmesan restant et tout le basilic. Ajoutez les aubergines restantes, et terminez avec la sauce tomate. Saupoudrez de parmesan.

Enfournez jusqu'à ce que le dessus soit légèrement doré, environ 30 mn. Laissez reposez 10 mn avant de servir.

Comments

  1. Mmmhhh, that looks loevly! I have never made eggplants parmigiana.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  2. For pepper, I advise a fragrant pepper, Kampot Pepper. It grown in a small area in Cambodia, and it is very delicious.

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  3. This sounds scrumptious! What a fantastic combination of ingredients.

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  4. Absolutely scrumptious looking lasagna !

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  5. I love eggplant parmigiana, made it for the first time a couple of months ago. I'll have to try your recipe too, it's my excuse to make it again :)

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  6. humm avec tout ce fromage...je bave!

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  7. I am such an eggplant freak!
    I love it sliced as thin as possible and fried lightly. I could eat this whole tray!

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  8. I agree with Stacey. I am too an eggplnts lover, unfurtuenly, Mike doesn't get along with eggplants at all ( he's part Italian so go figure!) Thanks for sharing this. I love your version of eggplants parmigiana.

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  9. Looks very tempting and delicious. I have enjoyed the pictures. I will save this recipe.

    Have a great day :D

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  10. J'ai fait un plat similaire récement, on s'est ré-ga-lé!!
    Le tien a l'air très bon aussi!!

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  11. Eggplant parmigiana is one of my all time favourite dishes. Yours looks sooooo good :D! What time should i come for dinner?
    *kisses* HH

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  12. Great technique on sweating out the water in the eggplant. I will try it the next time I make it. Thanks.

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  13. Chico, I love your extra cheezy version of eggplant parm and I agree...one must flour, dip in egg and bread crumbs for the ultimate result.

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  14. Oh this looks sooo good. I've been wanting to try an eggplant parm, but just haven't gotten around to doing it. I was again inspired by one of Bobby Flay's recent throwdowns...and now yours too! Looks absolutely delicious.

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  15. An awesome looking Eggplant parmigiana! Super delicious!

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  16. I love eggplant parmigiana and this looks delicious!

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  17. I don't use eggplants nearly enough! I can always count on you for inspiration!

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  18. You're not going to believe this, but I just came from the vege shop...and guess what I bought? Eggplants!!! yes, so I'm making your recipe for dinner tonight!

    Thanks for the Inspiration! Aldy :)

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  19. Now that is one deadly looking dish. YUM!!!

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