Eggplant parmigiana

Today I made a yummy eggplant parmigiana (or baked eggplants with parmesan) following my nonna's recipe. I just slightly modified it to use some leftovers of roasted chicken. Serve with green salad or pasta if you really wants some carbs - that was a no-no for me trying to manage my weight after a decadent holiday trip.

Follow the instructions and travel to Italy!

And because, we never waste anything in my kitchen - it's not that dinosaurs eat really anything though - tonight I made bruschetta with the leftovers of the eggplant parmigiana. Take a slice of bread (which was a leftover of a cereal loaf I made two days ago), spread the eggplants parmigiana previously chopped, add tasty cheese on the top, 8 mins under the grill and there you go!

Ingredients (4-6 serves)

- 3 eggplants, large, sliced in the length, between 0.5 and 1cm

- 3 cans of peeled tomatoes, finely diced, or lots of fresh ripe tomatoes

- 60 g parmesan, freshly grated

- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

- 5 tsp of olive oil

- 10 basil leaves

- 1 tsp of sugar

- 1 tsp tomato paste

- salt and black pepper

- leftovers of roasted chicken, finely chopped (optional)

Instructions (~ 45 mins) 

Pre-heat the oven, fan grill at 180C.

1. Heat 1 tsp of olive oil and stir the garlic in.

2. Quickly add the tomatoes and pour 1 can of water in. 

3. Stir in the tomato paste and the sugar. Season and add the basil.

4. Leave it on medium heat until it had reduced by half.

5. Brush the eggplants with the remaining oil on each side and precook them either in a frying pan or in the oven at 180C.*

6. Stack one layer of eggplant, then tomato sauce, parmesan and chicken (optional) after the other. Finish with parmesan.

7. Put in the oven for 20-25 mins. If the top starts burning, add foil on the top (which I obviously forgot to do today, hence a black-ish top on my eggplants - fail!)

Enjoy with pasta or green salad!

Good to know...

* I prefer the oven for its time-efficiency and it's less mess in the kitchen. But I prefer in the frying pan for the taste. Just choose the option that suits you the best, at the end they will be good anyway.