The recipe for the most delicious homemade melanzane alla parmigiana
Ever had that moment when you write down the name of a recipe and suddenly start drooling? I just had that three seconds ago, with this melanzane. I always order this when it's on the menu (at Ferrili’s Caffè on Beethovenstraat, it's scandalously delicious). But now I can just make it myself on this ordinary Monday, thanks to this recipe from our friends at the online food magazine FavorFlav. Speaking of starting your week off right.
Ingredients
- 500 milliliters of tomato sauce (ready-made or from the recipe below)
- 1 eggplant, sliced thinly
- salt and pepper
- olive oil for frying
- 1 large handful of basil, finely chopped
- 1 ball of mozzarella, sliced thinly
- 75 grams Parmesan cheese
- 1 handful of panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
- tomato sauce olive oil for frying
- 1 onion, sliced into rings
- 1 clove of garlic, chopped
- 1 can of peeled tomatoes
- salt and pepper
We also provide a recipe for a very quick (10 minutes) tomato sauce, but if you're feeling lazy, you can also use ready-made sauce. The eggplant, basil, and cheeses already give off enough delicious flavor on their own. Great with good bread to eat the tomato sauce with, or serve with a simple salad.
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Season the eggplant with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in a frying pan and fry the eggplant in batches until they are soft and starting to color. Let drain on kitchen paper.
Put 1/3 of the tomato sauce in a baking dish and place 1/3 of the fried eggplant on top. Then add 1/3 of the basil, followed by 1/3 of the mozzarella, and then 1/3 of the Parmesan cheese. Repeat this step two more times.
Make really thin layers, as the cheese makes the dish quite rich. The layers of eggplant and mozzarella don't need to cover the entire dish. You can also use more of everything if you want thicker layers, but in principle, this should be enough. Now sprinkle the dish with the breadcrumbs and put the baking dish in the oven for 30 minutes. Let it cool for a moment before you dig in; you don't want to burn your tongue.
Tomato sauce
Heat olive oil in a pan. Sauté the onions and garlic for about 5 minutes on low heat until they are translucent. Add the canned tomatoes and let simmer for about 5 minutes. Put the sauce in the food processor and puree. Make sure to put the lid on tightly; the sauce is scalding hot, so splatters are not fun. Season with pepper and salt.
