Eggplant Parmigianino

 

A great Italian Dish.

 

Eggplant Parmigianino Ingredients
Tomato Sauce:

• 3 medium carrots, diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 1 red onion
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled, whole
• 2 pounds canned tomatoes with juice
• 6 leaves fresh basil or 2 tablespoons dry
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• salt and pepper

Eggplant:

• 2 large, peeled eggplants, cut into 1/3 inch slices
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup olive oil
• 2 cups parmesan cheese

Béchamel Sauce:

• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 cup flour
• 4 cups whole milk, warm
• optional: grated or dry nutmeg

Cooking Dish: 9 x 11 casserole dish

Serves: 8

Prep Time: about 45 minutes

Cook Time: 1.5 hours

Preparation Directions

• Make tomato Sauce: Place all ingredients in medium pot and cook for 35-45 minutes, covered. Purée with immersion blender or food processor.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees
• Place sliced eggplants in colander and sprinkle with salt. Let sit 15-30 minutes, then rinse to remove salt and drain on paper towel.
• Place flour in pie plate and dredge eggplant, coating all sides, set aside to fry.
• Make béchamel sauce: Melt butter in medium pot and whisk in flour. Warm milk in microwave. Add warm milk in steady stream to flour mixture, stirring constantly until sauce is thick and creamy. Add fresh grated nutmeg or dry nutmeg. If sauce is too thick, whisk in more milk.
• Season with salt.
• Heat olive oil in fry pan. Fry eggplant slices, few at a time, on both sides until golden. Transfer to paper towel to cool after frying.

Now for the Construction:

• Spread layer of tomato sauce on bottom of baking dish. Top with layer of eggplant, spread on more tomato sauce, layer of béchamel sauce and dusting of cheese. Continue layering until all ingredients are used (will be 3-4 layers of each) ending with cheese.
• Bake 40 minutes (or until golden). Slice into wedges and serve hot.

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• Mushroom Pasta Sauce
• Fresh Tomato Sauce With Garlic and Mint
• Lasagna Meat Sauce
• White Clam Sauce

Tagged as: chicken, Italian Cooking, pasta