Name: Eggplant parmigiana
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 90 min
Total time: 120 min
Yield: 8
Ingredients: 5 eggplant (1.8kg), sliced lengthways 6mm thick; For shallow frying: olive oil; For dusting: seasoned plain flour; 200 gm finely grated parmesan, plus extra for dusting; 2 cups basil leaves, stalks reserved for sugo, plus extra leaves to serve (loosely packed); To serve: bitter leaf salad; Sugo; 60 ml extra-virgin olive oil (¼ cup); 1 onion, diced; 6 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped; 600 gm vine-ripened tomatoes; 400 gm canned chopped tomatoes; 2 tbsp coarsely chopped oregano

Eggplant parmigiana

There's a little labour involved in frying the eggplant slices before layering them, but the result is worth it.

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Serves 8

Prep

30M

Cook

1H 30M

Total

There’s lots to love about eggplant parmigiana, from the layers of soft baked eggplant, sweet-savoury sugo and bubbly parmesan on top. We especially love the fact the whole dish can be prepared ahead of time and popped into the oven at the last minute.

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Ingredients

5 eggplant (1.8kg), sliced lengthways 6mm thick

For shallow frying: olive oil

For dusting: seasoned plain flour

200 gm finely grated parmesan, plus extra for dusting

2 cups basil leaves, stalks reserved for sugo, plus extra leaves to serve (loosely packed)

To serve: bitter leaf salad

Sugo

60 ml extra-virgin olive oil (¼ cup)

1 onion, diced

6 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped

600 gm vine-ripened tomatoes

400 gm canned chopped tomatoes

2 tbsp coarsely chopped oregano

Method

Main

1.Place eggplant in a large bowl, add 2 tsp fine sea salt, toss to coat and set aside for liquid to drain (20 minutes).

2.For sugo, heat oil in a frying pan over high heat, add onion and stir occasionally until starting to caramelise (3-5 minutes), then add garlic and stir until caramelised (1-2 minutes). Add fresh and canned tomato, oregano and reserved basil stalks, bring to the simmer, reduce heat to medium and stir occasionally until tender and thick (30-40 minutes). Remove stalks (discard), transfer to a blender, season to taste and blend until smooth.

3.Heat olive oil to 3mm deep in a frying pan, dust eggplant slices with seasoned flour, shake off excess, then fry in batches, adding more oil as necessary, until golden (2-4 minutes). Drain on absorbent paper.

4.Preheat oven to 180C. Spoon a little sugo into a 15cm x 25cm baking dish, top with a layer of eggplant, scatter with parmesan and basil, then repeat until all ingredients are used, finishing with a layer of sugo. Scatter with extra parmesan, bake until golden and bubbling (20-30 minutes), scatter with extra basil and serve with a bitter leaf salad.