From My Kitchen: Eggplant Parmigiana

Ok, right off the bat, I want to make sure that this (very traditional and authentic) way of making this dish is not necessarily complicated. However, it is time consuming, and it involves a lot of steps. Of course it’s all worth it, but I felt you should know before you dig your hands into this deliciousness. I’m sticking with upping my intake of vegetarian foods, just keep it healthy, and this one doesn’t make you miss meat even one iota. I can’t say enough good things about this! I hope you take the time to cook this with me, you’ll be glad you did.

What you’ll need:

for the eggplant

  • 2 to 3 medium eggplants
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 cup vegetable oil

for the sauce

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 cups tomato puree
  • 1/8 tsp salt

for the parmigiana

  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup Parmigiana-Geggiano cheese, grated
  • 8 – 10 oz fresh mozzarella

Slice the eggplants thinly, then lay them out on paper towels and sprinkle them with salt on both sides. Set aside for 30 – 60 minutes to draw out the excess water. Rinse off the salt and dry them off with paper towels.

In the meantime, start making the sauce. Add the olive oil to a sauce pan, then sauté the onions for 5 minutes until soft. Add the garlic and saute for another minute. Add the tomato puree and the salt, and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Set aside and let it cool somewhat.

Heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan, and fry the eggplant a few at a time. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Transfer one third of the tomato sauce to the bottom of an oven proof 9 x 13 baking dish.

Mix two thirds of the tomato sauce with the eggs (make sure the sauce is cooled down). Layer the eggplant into the baking dish, followed by tomato-egg mix, then a sprinkle of Parmigiano cheese, then slices of the fresh mozzarella. Repeat until your ingredients are used up.

Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees uncovered.

Bon Appetit!

Author: Gotham Foodie

Hello there, fellow foodies! My name is Erica, I was born and raised in Germany, and moved to the US, New York City to be exact, in July of 1987. I have worked most of my time here in the Big Apple as a bartender, but my true love is food. I cook just about every day, I search for good food everywhere, and pretty much always find it. I don't consider myself a food critic, I don't have the culinary background for that kind of expertise. I do however know good food, good chefs and good restaurants. I report back about my culinary adventures, and I choose to leave out my unsatisfactory experiences. We have enough negativity in our daily lives, I don't want to add to that. All the recipes in my FROM MY KITCHEN and DOTW blogs are cooked and prepared by me. All pictures are taken by me. I don't always eat everything you see in my pictures, but you bet your buns, I do try everything. Last but not least, you should know that I am a huge Top Chef fan. I have never missed an episode of the Bravo TV show. I have at this point visited almost 20 restaurants run by Top Chef contestants, and I'm continuously impressed by their skill, drive and passion. So I will continue to seek them out, and I hope you join me in my journey!

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