Parmigiana di Melanzane

Ingredients

• Eggplant

  Raw

  2 eggplant, unpeeled (approx 1-1/4 lb) or 1.1kg

• Olive oil

  Salad or cooking

  ⅓ cup or 72g

• Tomato products

  Canned, puree, with salt added

  24 oz or 680g

• Garlic

  Raw

  1 clove or 3g

• Basil

  Fresh

  1 leaf, whole or 0.5g

• Mozzarella cheese

  Part skim milk

  2 oz or 57g

• Parmesan cheese

  Shredded

  1 tbsp or 5g

• Salt

  Table

  1 tbsp or 18g

Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a small saucepan, add garlic, a generous pour of olive oil, tomato purèe, water and a few basil leaves. Bring to a simmer over medium/low heat and salt to taste. Allow to cook, partly covered, for 20-25 minutes. Stir occasionally as the sauce reduces.
3. Pour enough olive oil into a shallow skillet to submerge the eggplant strips (about 1/2-inch). Bring to a high temperature on the stovetop. To see when the oil is hot enough, simply drop in a small piece of eggplant. If the oil bubbles furiously, it's ready!
4. Being careful not to splash the oil, slide the eggplant slices into the pan and fry in batches. Turn over occasionally and remove onto a paper towel once the strips are soft and golden-brown. Dab the finished eggplants dry with another paper towel and allow to cool.
5. In a medium casserole dish (we used one about 10-inches in diameter and 5-inches tall, but you can easily adapt to what you have on hand), begin layering the components. Start with a thin layer of tomato sauce, followed by a single layer of eggplant strips, chunks of mozzarella cheese, and a generous grating of Parmigiano. Repeat these steps and finish with a final layer of eggplant, topped with sauce and Parmigiano.
6. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for a further 10 minutes or until the surface is lightly browned. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 30 minutes before serving.