Mom's Eggplant Parmigiana Recipe

Mom's Eggplant Parmigiana Recipe

This is an authentic eggplant parmigiana recipe, straight from my mother's kitchen! Not your typical oversauced parmigiana, my mother's recipe features surprise ingredients such as hard boiled eggs and mortadella. A must try!

Course Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine Sicilian

Keyword eggplant parmesan, eggplant parmigiana, eggplants

Prep Time 40

Cook Time 1 10

Resting time 30

Servings -8 servings

Calories 714kcal

Author Nadia Fazio

Ingredients

2 large eggplants
olive oil for brushing the eggplant slices when roasting

For the tomato sauce

1 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic finely minced
red pepper flakes optional
2 cups tomato passata
salt to taste
handful basil leaves

To assemble

3 tbsp dry breadcrumbs
2 cups mozzarella shredded
3 tbsp Pecorino Romano or Parmigiano cheese grated
6 slices mortadella (about 90 grams)
4 hardboiled eggs

Instructions

Prepare the eggplant

Preheat oven to 350°F. Begin by removing the bittern juices from the eggplant. Slice eggplant into 1/4 inch thick rounds. Salt the slices and place in a large bowl. Cover with water, place a plate on top of the eggplants and weigh down with a heavy object (I use a box of salt). Let sit for 30 minutes.
Drain the water and rinse well. Pat the slices dry. Place on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper, brush both sides with olive oil and salt lightly. Bake for about 20 minutes, flipping halfway.

Prepare the tomato sauce

While the eggplant is soaking, prepare the tomato sauce: In a large skillet heat olive oil and sauté garlic and red pepper flakes (optional). Add 2 cups tomato passata (tomato purée) and simmer for 20 minutes. Add salt, to taste, and a few basil leaves. Set aside.

Assemble the dish

Grease the bottom and sides of a rectangular casserole dish. Spread a thin layer of breadcrumbs at the bottom and sides of the dish. Layer eggplant rounds, slightly overlapping the slices so that the bottom is completely covered. Spread 1/3 of the tomato purée over the eggplant, next add 1/3 of the shredded mozzarella and 1 tbsp grated Pecorino Romano or Parmigiano cheese. Top with 3 slices of mortadella and 2 thinly sliced hardboiled eggs.
Repeat these steps with a second layer and end with a final layer of eggplant slices. Top with the remaining tomato sauce, shredded mozzarella and grated cheese.
Top with a thin layer of breadcrumbs. Bake at 350°F for half an hour, until the top is golden and the cheese is bubbling.

Notes

Do not skip the eggplant salting step as this helps draw out the bitter flavor of the eggplant.
Use caciocavallo cheese instead of mozzarella as they do in Sicily.
Turn this into a vegetarian dish by omitting the sliced mortadella.
For a gluten free version, omit the breadcrumbs.
You can prepare the dish a day or two ahead and bake it on the day of serving.
Eggplant parmigiana can be frozen but it is preferable to assemble it in an aluminum tray which can go directly into the oven.

Nutrition