Photo: mhaithaca / Flickr

Eggplant parmigiana is a vegetarian baked Italian dish made up of chopped onions, garlic, tomatoes, eggplants, bocconcini (or mozzarella balls), cheddar cheese, parmesan cheese and basil leaves. You will need a saucepan for frying and a baking dish. This recipe will serve six to eight and it should take about half an hour to prepare ‑ and 40 minutes to bake. Once baked, the eggplant parmigiana can be garnished with basil leaves and shaved parmesan cheese.

Ingredients

Measure out the following ingredients: three tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, one diced onion, two crushed garlic cloves, one and a quarter kilograms of chopped and peeled tomatoes (the riper the better), one kilogram of eggplants, 250 grams of sliced bocconcini (mozzarella cheese balls), 190 grams of finely grated cheddar cheese and half a cup of grated parmesan cheese.

Method

Place the olive oil in a frying pan and heat it on a medium heat. Add the onion and allow it to brown slowly until the flesh is soft. Add the garlic and cook it with the onions for about one minute. Add the chopped tomatoes to the pan and allow the ingredients to simmer for 15 minutes – then season with salt and pepper.

Preheat your oven to 200 degrees Celsius.

Thinly slice the eggplants and shallow fry the slices in olive oil for about four minutes each – or until each slice is golden brown on either side. Drain the eggplant on paper towels.

Place a third of the fried eggplant into an ovenproof dish with a capacity of 1.7 litres or so. Place half the mozzarella and cheddar cheese on top. Follow with another layer of eggplant and cheese so that you finish with a layer of eggplant on top. Pour the tomato mix over the eggplant and cheese dish and finish with a scattering of cut basil leaves and parmesan cheese.

Allow the dish to bake for about 40 minutes and garnish with some fresh basil leaves and shaved parmesan cheese before serving.



Tags: cooking, recipes, vegetarian