This no-fry eggplant Parmesan is an authentic healthy Italian recipe Parmigiana di melanzane from the South of Italy, Calabria. It is the vegetarian version of a Lasagna where thinly sliced eggplants are used instead of pasta sheets. In this recipe, the eggplants are not fried but grilled in a hot skillet pan, then baked with fresh tomato sauce and plenty of mozzarella and Parmesan, with no meat.
Peel the eggplants and cut them into slices length wide
3 eggplants
Slightly brush a frying pan with olive oil
Grill the eggplants turning them on each side
They do not need to be completely cooked as they will bake in the oven
Compose the dish
Oil the base of a baking dish and cover with breadcrumbs flavored with basil and garlic
4 tablespoon olive oil
Layer a base of grilled eggplants, sprinkle with salt
2 tablespoon breadcrumbs, 10 leaves fresh basil leaves, ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan, 1 clove peeled garlic cloves
Add ½ cup of tomato sauce
3 teaspoon salt
And some freshly grated parmesan
3 teaspoon salt
Continue the layers by adding more eggplant slices. Add some more tomato sauce, salt and Parmesan
In the middle, add some grated mozzarella
1 Italian mozzarella
Cover with more eggplants, tomato sauce and parmesan cheese
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan
Add a layer of grated mozzarella to the top
1 Italian mozzarella
Drizzle some olive oil
4 tablespoon olive oil
Bake in the oven for 30 minutes at 180C - 350 F
Let it rest for 10 minutes and serve warm
Video
Notes
For this recipe, I use round eggplants, as their large slices are perfect to lay on the baking dish.
Their flavour is not as bitter as some of the long ones, so I don't need to drain it in salt
You can use regular eggplant, but buy thin ones as they have fewer seeds. If you think they might be slightly bitter, salt the slices and put them in a strainer with a weight on top. Let them drain for a few hours and they will release the bitter brown juice.
You don't need to add any oil when grilling the eggplants, once cooked they will easily detach from the griddle
Use good quality mozzarella and ham
Once the eggplant Parmesan is ready, let it rest for 10 minutes, even better, make it the day before as the eggplants will have time to absorb the tomato sauce.
I always recommend homemade tomato sauce or the brand Mutt