A light and delicate take on eggplant parmesan for summer suppers. This is worlds away from your typical casserole, nothing like those bricks of heavy breaded eggplant.
This concept comes from Deborah Madison, who layers broiled eggplant slices with basil leaves, fresh mozzarella, and a light tomato sauce. I typically make this with slices of regular globe eggplants, but my local Arab market is currently selling tiny baby eggplants, truly as small as eggs. I thought I’d throw a version of this together with these baby eggplants. It turned out to be one of the cutest baked dishes.
The photos document my baby eggplant version, but the instructions cover both versions.
A light and delicate take on eggplant parmesan for summer suppers.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds eggplant
- olive oil
- tomato sauce (I like to use Marcella Hazan’s sauce, but feel free to use another fresh tomato sauce recipe)
- basil leaves
- 4 ounces fresh mozzarella (I have also had good results with goat cheese)
- grated parmesan
Instructions
- I usually start the assembly by starting to simmer the tomato sauce.
- If you are using baby eggplants, trim the stems and slice the baby eggplants in half lengthwise. Sprinkle with salt and let stand 30 minutes. Then blot dry with a paper towel. Fry the halves in a skillet on each side until golden and soft when poked with a fork. If you are using globe eggplants, slice them into rounds 1/3 inch thick. Salt and blot them, as described above. Brush each with olive oil, and broil in the oven. Let them broil 5-6 minutes per side, until golden brown and soft.
- Season the eggplant lightly with salt and pepper.
- At this point, I finish my tomato sauce, removing the onions, whirring it with a stick blender. For this dish, I also add a handful of torn basil leaves to the sauce at the very end.
- For assembly, coat the bottom of your baking dish with tomato sauce. Arrange the eggplant. Top with a sliced fresh mozzarella, basil leaves, then another layer of eggplant to create a sort of sandwich.
- Gently top each “eggplant-sandwich” with tomato sauce to lightly cover, then about a teaspoon each of grated Parmesan.
- Bake in a 375F oven for 25-35 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbling.
