Eggplant Parmesan (Melanzane alla Parmigiana) II
Difficulty 3/5 Ingredients 7 Steps 7
Melanzane alla parmigiana is a typical Italian dish, existing in different forms in most parts of Italy. Northerners claim it as their own because of the name. Southerners, in particular Sicilians, claim that it originated in the south and that "Parmigiana" is a misunderstanding for "Palmigiana", which is a type of shutter, alluding to the way in which the eggplant slices are laid. There are some variations…
Ingredients
- 2 kg (4 lb) eggplants
- 700 g (24 oz) fresh cooking tomatoes, or one large or two medium cans of plum tomatoes
- 1 kg (2 lb) cows' milk mozzarella cheese, known in Italy as fiordilatte
- ½ large or 1 medium onion, sliced
- Olive oil
- Fresh basil leaves
- Parmesan or Grana Padano cheese
Steps
- Cut eggplants lengthwise into ¼ inch (0.75cm) slices. Cover in plenty of salt on a plate, about 1 hour. Wash off salt. Dry with paper towel.
- Cook onion slices in olive oil until soft. Add drained whole tomatoes and mash with fork. If watery, add a small can of tomato paste. Add 2 basil leaves. Simmer about 20 min.
- Fill frying pan (cast iron if available) with ½ inch (1 cm) olive oil and heat.
- Fry eggplant slices a few at a time without overlapping, until golden, flipping once. Drain in drainer. Repeat until all are cooked.
- Spread thin layer of sauce in greased ovenproof baking pan or casserole. Add layer of eggplant, edges slightly overlapped with no voids. Add basil leaves and sliced mozzarella.
- Alternate layers until eggplant is used. Top with tomato sauce and grated Parmesan or grana.
- Bake about 40 min at 350°F (180°C). Serve hot.
Source. Adapted from “Cookbook:Eggplant Parmesan (Melanzane alla Parmigiana) II” by Wikibooks contributors, revision of 2026-06-16, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Changes. Steps rewritten into short commands. Introduction shortened. Wiki formatting removed. This adapted recipe is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.