Rippled Eggplant Parmigiana
This rippled eggplant parmigiana is layered directly over a rich tomato base and baked until the eggplant becomes silky soft and the cheese melts into golden bubbles. It’s simple, comforting and packed with flavour.
Ingredients
- 4 large eggplants
- 700 g good quality passata
- 400 g crushed tomatoes
- 1 French shallot very finely diced
- 6 cloves garlic crushed or finely grated (microplane works well)
- 1 tbsp fresh oregano and thyme finely chopped (or 1 tsp dried of each)
- 1 tsp sea salt
- ¼ tsp cracked black pepper
- 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ cup mozzarella grated
- ¼ cup Parmigiano Reggiano finely grated
- Fresh basil leaves to garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C.
- Cut the eggplants in half lengthways (if they're really big), then slice using a mandolin into 3–4 mm slices. They should be thin enough to bend and ripple, but not so thin that they break and fall apart.
- Lightly sprinkle the eggplant slices with salt and set aside while you prepare the sauce.
- In a round baking dish or cast-iron casserole, combine the passata, crushed tomatoes, diced shallot, garlic, herbs, salt and pepper. Mix well to create the base sauce. No need to precook the sauce.
- Arrange the eggplant on top of the sauce, layering the slices upright in small ripples across the dish.
- Drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and season lightly with additional salt and pepper if desired.
- Cover the dish and bake for 1 hour, until the eggplant is soft.
- Remove from the oven and uncover. Sprinkle over the mozzarella and Parmigiano Reggiano.
- Return to the oven uncovered for a further 30 minutes, until the cheese is golden and bubbling.
- Finish with fresh basil leaves before serving.
