Melanzane alla parmigiana is a classic Italian casserole with just a few ingredients, starring eggplant (melanzane), tomato and mozzarella. Eggplant provides your body with fiber, antioxidants, vitamin C and manganese. The mozzarella and parmesan cheese are a real comfort food for these autumn days, but if you do not (want to) eat cheese for whatever reason, you can omit it or choose a vegan cheese. This recipe is very simple and very tasty!
Ingredients
2 large eggplants
1 tin of diced tomatoes 400 grams
2 buffalo mozzarella
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
Fresh basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
A piece of Parmesan cheese
Olive oil
Pepper and salt
Optional: ciabatta bread
Preparation
Cut the eggplants lengthwise into slices of about half a cm. The taste of eggplant is fairly neutral to bitter. Don't like the bitter taste? Sprinkle the eggplants slices generously with salt on both sides and let them drain in a colander for half an hour.
Preheat the oven to 180 ºC. Chop the onion, the garlic and remove the leaves from the basil. Tip: also use the basil stems. Chop these fine. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Fry the onion, garlic and basil stalks for a few minutes. Add the diced tomatoes, oregano, salt and pepper. Lower the heat and let the tomato sauce simmer for about 15 minutes.
Dab the excess moisture off the eggplant slices with a paper towel. Then drizzle some olive oil over it, heat a grill pan and grill the slices on both sides for a few minutes. Cut the mozzarella into half-centimeter slices.
Grease the baking dish, place a layer of eggplant in it and spoon a layer of tomato sauce on top. Grate Parmesan cheese on top, put a few slices of mozzarella on top and tear some basil leaves over it. Repeat until all ingredients are used, then finish with a layer of eggplant and Parmesan cheese. Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes until the top is golden brown. Serve in the oven dish and optionally with ciabatta bread to dip in the tomato sauce.