Cheats Aubergine Parmigiana
I love the combination of aubergine and parmesan, and I applaud whoever created this marriage made in heaven. I can’t resist ordering a traditional aubergine parmigiana when I see it on an Italian menu’s restaurant, and while I am happy to make it at home, grilling the slices of aubergine in batches is more effort than I am willing to give after a long day at work.
This is my recipe for when you want your parmigiana fix, but quite honestly can’t be bothered. As many of you will know, I am a huge fan of cutting corners and this is a good example of just that. There are five minutes of prep involved, and then it’s in the oven so you can get on with your evening. It takes a while to cook, but aside from sprinkling on the breadcrumbs towards the end of the cooking time you barely lift a finger so I would never classify this as something that takes ‘ages to make’.
This recipe feeds three, but it all really depends on the size of your aubergines. If you have a small little beauty, I’d say that’s perfect for one person. Here I’ve used two medium ones and that served two for dinner and I had the leftovers the following day for lunch.
HOW TO MAKE AN EASY AUBERGINE PARMIGIANA
Skill: Easy!
Time: 5mins prep + 1hr 15 mins cooking approx
Serves: 3
INGREDIENTS
2 Medium aubergines
400g Tomato sauce. I really love these Mutti ones
250g Mozarella
3 medium ripe tomatoes
50g Basil leaves
50g Parmesan, freshly grated plus extra to serve
60g Panko breadcrumbs
Olive oil
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 220/200fan and then pour half of the tomato sauce into a baking dish and spread out evenly.
Slice the aubergines lengthways into 1cm strips keeping it attached at the stalk end. Slice the mozzarella into 0.5cm slices, slice the tomatoes and tear the basil leaves from the stems.
To assemble place the aubergines into the dish and drizzle them with olive oil and sprinkle generously with salt ensuring some gets between every slice. Alternate the slices of mozzarella and slices of tomatoes throughout the aubergine then liberally add basil leaves in every slice. Use the remaining tomato sauce and any leftover mozzarella to fill any gaps in the aubergine or at the side of the tray.
Give the whole thing one last sprinkling of salt and a really good grind of black pepper. Cover the dish with foil and put it in the oven to roast for about an hour (the time will depend on the size of your aubergines so check it after 45 mins to see how you’re going). You want them to have softened, and not gone totally mushy!
Combine the breadcrumbs and parmesan and after an hour, remove the foil from the dish and sprinkle over the breadcrumb mixture. Return to the oven for another 15 minutes or so until it’s golden brown and crunchy on top.
Serve with garlic bread to mop up the tomato sauce.
NOTES
Aubergine or eggplant? Well, that simply depends on who you ask!
I usually like to make my own tomato sauce, but as it is all about timesaving then I suggest getting the best tomato sauce you can afford.
The cooking time really does depend on the size of your aubergines. I personally love a really well-cooked aubergine, but these are night to have a little bite to them for texture. You can use a sharp knife inserted in the middle to check it’s cooked - you don’t want to feel too much resistance