Melanzane alla parmigiana

A lovely Italian eggplant dish that everyone in the family loves to eat! Made with layers of eggplant, cheese, fresh basil and tomato sauce. This delicious dish has its origin in Sicily, southern Italy.

My take on this dish is to add ricotta between the layers of the eggplants to give it a rich creaminess. A perfect combination with the juicy, soft eggplants and the cheesy goodness.

Melanzane alle parmigiana

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Gang main dish

Keuken Italian

Ingrediënten  

• 2 eggplants
• 1 mozzerella cut into layers
• parmesan
• 150 gram ricotta
• beyond meat optional

Tomato sauce

• 1 onion finely chopped
• a pinch cinnamon
• 400 g canned tomatoes or passata
• handfull basil
• 1/2 tsp sugar to balance the sourness of the tomatoes
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructies 

Eggplant

• Cut the eggplant in thin layers. Place them in a colander and sprinkle generously with salt. Let it sit for about an hour. This way the eggplant will reduce moisture and its bitterness for a stronger flavour and softer texture.
• Thoroughly rinse the eggplant under cold water and pat it dry with kitchen paper.
• Brush eggplants with olive oil on each side. And cook for a couple of minutes on both sides until lightly browned on a grillpan or skillet.

Tomato sauce

• While the eggplants are cooking, take a large skillet and heat olive oil over medium high heat. Sauté the finely chopped onions until softened and add a pinch of cinnamon (see note 1).
• Add the canned tomatoes, basil and sugar. Stir and bring to a simmer for around 15 minutes.
• Add salt & pepper to taste. Set aside.

Layering

• Pre-heat the oven on 200 C.
• Use an oven dish to layer your ingredients. Start by a little tomato sauce on the bottom. Add some ricotta and mozzarella to it. Following by a layer of eggplants. Repeat the layering until all the sauce, ricotta and eggplants are used.
• I like to end with a layer of eggplants, so you can see the beautiful eggplants slices on top.
• Sprinkle parmesan cheese and mozzarella.
• Bake for 20-30 minutes until golden brown and bubbly.
• Garnish with basil.

Beyond meat meatballs - optional

• Totally optional! I like to add proteins in my dishes. The meatballs turned out to be a great match!

Notities

1. Cinnamon brings out the natural sweetness of the tomatoes and helps with the tempers the acidity.