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–+ servings
eggplant parmigiana

Eggplant Parmigiana(Parmigiana di Melanzane)

Miranda | My Anosmic Kitchen
This is an authentic Italian classic Parmigiana di Melanzane recipe that's also known as Eggplant Parmesan. Delicious and the perfect bake where mozzarella and tomato sauce meet and create their own heavenly bubble in the oven. There is definitely time and patience involved here, but each step, every ingredient, will give you the best results to any vegetarian dish that you've ever tasted!
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Prep Time 40 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 2 hours 40 minutes

Ingredients
  

Eggplant Prep

  • 6 eggplants aubergines sliced lengthways with the skin on
  • 2 tsps salt

Eggplant Dredging and Frying

  • 1 cup flour
  • 3 eggs beaten
  • 1 tsps garlic and herb seasoning/oregano/basil
  • 1 ½ cups parmesan cheese freshly grated
  • ⅓ cup oil
  • 2 cups mozzarella cheese shredded

Sugo | Sauce

  • 5 cups marinara sauce
  • 2 tbsps parsley or basil chopped
  • 2 cups fresh basil leaves lightly packed

Instructions
 

  • Prepare the eggplants: Rinse, cut off the bottom and top edges and discard. Slice the eggplant and let the slices sit on a board/work station surface for an hour to an hour and half to draw out the moisture. You will see water on the eggplants and on the board, take them into a colander and give them a quick rinse. Shake the colander to get rid of excess water. Lay all the eggplant slices down on tissue paper to again dry them out. Two layers of paper at the bottom, lay the slices in single form,2 to 3 sheets of tissue paper, another layer of eggplant slices and then 2 sheets to cover them.
  • Assemble the dredging station: Get 2 large plates, one for the flour and one with sides for the eggs. Into the flour plate add the garlic and herb seasoning (or add a pinch of salt/oregano).
  • Prepare a plate or dish for the fried eggplants Layer a plate or other dish with kitchen tissue paper and keep it next to the stove.
  • Fry the eggplants: Heat a non stick preferably deep pan and add the oil. Once the oil is hot, start dredging the eggplants. Take one eggplant and dredge it in the flour, shake the flour off, dip it into the egg, old the eggplant up so the drippings of egg drip back into the plate and then straight into the oil to fry. Fry till light brown and flip to fry the opposite side. As they are done get them onto your prepared plate or dish with kitchen paper on to catch any oil drippings. Keep going until all the eggplant slices are done.
  • Preheat the oven Get an oven dish like a Pyrex dish or any other oven bake dish which should be about
  • Assemble: Spread marinara sauce over the bottom of an oven dish. Using a smaller dish gives you a more compact bake so about 30cm dish. Lay a couple of eggplant slices down over the marinara sauce then again another layer of sauce followed by parmesan cheese (you can mix the cheeses up). On the last round: layer of eggplant slices, marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese. Always top it off with mozzarella cheese on the last one even if you use parmesan in the middle.
  • Bake: Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and browned a little.
  • Garnish and serve: Garnish with fresh basil and allow the eggplant parmigiana to cool and rest for about 15 minutes before slicing into it.

Notes

  • Eggplant Salting the eggplant does not make it salty! Get them into a colander, rinse them off and lay them on kitchen tissue paper to dry. Yes it's an extra step but every step in this recipe is worth the taste. 
  • Make ahead: You can make the sauce ahead of time even the day before to cut down the time. You can also dredge the eggplant slices, fry them and lay them in a dish covered with plastic wrap or foil and leave them in the fridge. I wouldn't advise to layer the recipe ahead of time because you don't want soggy eggplants rather layer just before baking. 
  • You can slice your eggplants in rounds if you want not necessarily lengthwise.
  • This recipe has a lot of steps but all of them are easy and if you start a ahead of time you can make it in a breeze. Especially if you're having guests, make it the day before and then simply layer and bake on the day of serving. 
We fry the eggplant slices because that's authentic to our Italian family and we also salt and drain the eggplant slices and it's never too salty, simply follow the steps in the recipe. 
  • No need to rush it, it's worth every step!
  • Store it in the fridge for 2-3 days in an airtight container in the fridge or in the same oven dish wrapped tightly with foil.
  • To reheat, it's best to preheat the oven to 180C and place the eggplant parmigiana into the oven covered with foil. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until heated through. 
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