Easy Aubergine Parmigiana
Description: Easy Aubergine Parmigiana (or Eggplant Parmigiana in the USA) is a delicious vegetarian dish of Italian origins made with baked aubergine slices, tomato sauce, lots of parmesan and mozzarella cheese and basil. It's easy to make, filling, and a great meatless recipe for the whole family. This Parmigiana di Melanzane is such a comforting dish for the cold season.
Ingredients
- 3 aubergines (eggplant)
- 500 ml tomato passata ( 2 cups)
- 1 onion
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
- 250 g mozzarella cheese ( 8 oz)
- 50 g grated parmesan cheese ( 1/2 cup)
- fresh basil for garnishing
Instructions
- Slice the aubergines, season with salt and drizzle the olive oil over.
- Arrange the slices on a baking tray lined with non-stick paper, and bake for 20 minutes at 200 degrees Celsius (390 Fahrenheit) until they are tender.
- Meanwhile, make the tomato sauce.
- Heat up the vegetable oil on a low to medium heat, peel and chop the onion finely, and fry until golden.
- Add the tomato passata, season with salt and pepper, and leave to bubble up for 5 minutes until the sauce is slightly reduced.
- Remove from the heat and set aside.
- When the slices are cooked, add 2 tablespoons of tomato sauce to the bottom of an ovenproof dish, and arrange 4 aubergine slices in a single layer (or less slices depending on the size of your dish).
- Sprinkle 1/3 of the grated parmesan over, tear the mozzarella cheese, and add 1/3 of it to the parmesan.
- Add another layer of aubergine slices, and repeat the process until all the ingredients are used up - I had 3 layers of aubergines, sauce, parmesan and mozzarella.
- Cover the dish with a kitchen foil, and bake for 20 minutes, then remove the foil and bake for a further 15 minutes until the cheese is melted and the dish is bubbling hot.
- Garnish with freshly-shopped basil.