Eggplant parmigiana (Parmigiana di melanzane)

First of all, slice the eggplants (1/2 cm thick) and sprinkle them lightly with salt and set them aside for an hour.

Meanwhile, make the tomato sauce. Finely chop the onion and garlic and sauté in a pan with 2 tablespoons of olive oil until translucent. Add the tomato purée, and fresh basil leaves torned with your hands. Add a pinch of salt and pepper, stir and simmer for 15 minutes.

Rinse the eggplant under cold water to remove the salt and dry with a kitchen towel or paper.

In the traditional recipe you dust the eggplant in flour and then fry for a few seconds each side. If you choose to make it this way, don’t forget to fry it straight away to avoid to get soggy. You must realized that my cooking tries to be a little healthier. I make this dish grilling the eggplants instead of frying them. In this case you don’t need to dust them in flour. Only grill both sides of the eggplant slices until soft and lightly golden. It will tastes fabulous and will be a lighter version.

Preheat oven to 180°C. Spread a small amount of tomato sauce into the bottom of a baking dish.

Next, add one layer of tomato sauce in the tray base. Then the eggplants, and another layer of tomato sauce followed by a sprinkling of parmesan cheese and mozzarella. Continue repeating the layers with the same order with the rest of ingredients. To finish, spoon over the remaining tomato sauce, parmesan and mozzarella.

Cover the tray with aluminium foil and bake for 20 minutes. After that, remove the foil and bake for another 20 minutes until nice and golden.