I have a love-hate relationship with eggplant. I love eggplant dishes that a smoky and cooked really soft like babaganoush, eggplant bhartha ( its a Indian style babaganoush) and some curries. Things like grilled eggplant are a no-no. Most eggplant recipes are deep fried or simply not cooked properly and for those reasons I don’t like eggplant.
This Eggplant Parmesan, a classic American-Italian restaurant favorite is not traditional. Honestly the traditional recipe is messy and time consuming, and I have no patience for those recipes anymore This recipe is twice baked, much lighter and cuts out a lot of cooking steps. Because its twice cooked the eggplant is super soft and melt-in-your-mouth-creamy, so if you’re like me, chances are you’ll like this recipe.
Everything happens on one tray in stages making clean up easy . That means dinner can be made in a jiffy. If you like Italian flavors and need a relatively easy recipe I recommend you try this. If you make this recipe please leave a comment with your feedback here or on Instagram, I love to hear from you.
Easy Parmigiana di Melanzane
- 4-5 small Italian eggplants, weighing about 8-10 oz each
- 4 oz burrata or mozzarella cheese, torn, use dairy free mozzarella cheese if vegan
- 1 medium loaf Italian or French bread, I used sourdough kalamata olive Rosemary bread
- 2-3 cups baby tomatoes, cut in half
- Marinara sauce or arrabiata sauce, jarred or recipe follows
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- grated parmesan cheese as needed, vegan parmesan can be subbed
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 3-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil at least
- Handful of torn fresh basil leaves
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Grease a baking sheet with oil and set aside. I prefer greasing to lining the baking sheet for this recipe.
- Wash, pat dry and cut the eggplants in half lengthwise (leave the stems on to the hold the eggplant together and it looks pretty).
- Score the cut sides carefully without going all the way through. to make a crisscross pattern. (See the image)
- Drizzle with some olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
- Place the cut-side down and roast for 30-35 minutes, until soft and creamy but still holds its shape. (this is the first baking)
- Now flip the eggplants the cut side facing up.
- Spoon the tomato sauce around and on top of the eggplant slices. Neatly place the baby tomatoes, both the cheeses (only if using mozzarella), torn bread pieces all round the eggplant and drizzle the olive oil all over, specially the bread to toast beautifully.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 375°F and bake for another 30 minutes.
- Remove from the oven. If you’re using burrata tear and scatter it over the tray.
- Garnish with basil leaves and serve.
- TOMATO SAUCE ABOUT 2 CUPS
- 1 small onion, diced
- 2 to 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 1- 28 oz can tomatoes, san Marzano preferred
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- sea salt as needed
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- Freshly ground black pepper
- fresh basil leaves, torn
- Heat a large sauce pan over medium heat. Add the oil, followed by the onion and garlic.
- Cook, stirring occasionally, for 8 to 10 minutes, until light golden. Add the tomatoes and water (rinse out the can or box) and bring to a boil.
- Lower the heat to maintain a low, steady simmer. Add the salt, red pepper flakes, black pepper to taste, and the basil.
- Simmer for 25 to 30 minutes, until slightly thickened but still a little loose.
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