Eggplant alla Parmigiano recipe. Eggplant Parmigiano - how to cook step by step recipes with chicken, minced meat or baked peppers

We offer you to prepare incredibly delicious eggplant parmigiano. This dish comes from sunny Italy. The combination of eggplant pulp with sweet and sour sauce, aromatic basil, piquant Parmesan, and delicate Mozzarella balls will not leave you and your family indifferent. These are the most delicious eggplants that can be prepared without any effort at home.

Ingredients

• Eggplants - 650 g
• White crackers - 100 g
• Parmesan - 150 g
• Mozzarella cheese - 150 g
• Garlic - 3 cloves
• Olive oil - 10 tbsp.
• Tomato sauce:
• Tomatoes - 1 kg
• Garlic - 4 cloves
• Green basil - 5 sprigs
• Ground black pepper- taste
• Salt - to taste
• Olive oil - 3 tbsp.
• Sugar - to taste

Information

step by step recipe with photo

The famous cheese that made Parma famous throughout the world magically transforms everything it is combined with. Eggplant Parmigiano is no exception, to which it imparts its characteristic aroma and spicy aftertaste, turning an ordinary vegetable dish into a rare and exquisite appetizer.

Abundance of garlic as an integral part Italian cuisine should not interrupt the delicate nutty taste of the cheese according to the original recipe.

Large bread crumb makes up the main originality of the dish and sets off the spiciness of the spicy tomato sauce. It is better to peel eggplants from the thin but durable peel - it will interfere with enjoying the dish to the fullest.

Ingredients

• eggplants 2 pcs.
• white bread 100 g
• parmesan cheese 100 g
• vegetable oil to taste
• hard cheese 100 g
• garlic 2-3 cloves

• tomatoes 1 kg
• garlic 3-4 cloves
• green basil 1 bunch
• vegetable oil 2-3 tbsp. l.
• salt to taste
• sugar to taste
• ground black pepper to taste

Preparation

1. Wash and dry large eggplants. Trim the ponytails. Cut into rings 5-7 mm thick. Dissolve 1-2 tablespoons of salt in 1-1.5 liters of cold water. Dip the eggplants into the salted liquid. Cover the top with a lid so that all the rings are in the water. Leave for 30-40 minutes.

2. Prepare the sauce. Rinse the tomatoes. Make a cross-shaped cut on top. Place in boiling water for 30-40 seconds. Then move to cold water, cool.

3. Peel and cut into small cubes.

4. Heat vegetable oil in a saucepan. Add peeled and chopped garlic. Fry for 1-2 minutes over low heat.

5. Add chopped tomatoes. Stir. Cover with a lid and bring to a boil.

6. Wash the basil leaves, chop finely, add to the boiling sauce. Stir. Simmer covered for 30 minutes over low heat.

7. Meanwhile White bread tear into pieces and dry in the oven until golden brown at 200 degrees for 10-13 minutes.

8. Grind the crackers with a mortar.

9. Add a couple of tablespoons of vegetable oil and chopped garlic. Stir.

10. At the end of cooking, season the sauce with salt, pepper and sugar and turn off the heat.

11. Rinse the eggplants and dry with a napkin.

12. Brown on hot frying pan with vegetable oil until golden brown on both sides, 2-4 minutes on each side over high heat.

In the south of Italy, but I’ll repeat myself again and tell you about another dish that won my heart.
To be honest, I myself would never have thought of ordering it in a restaurant, because I was traveling to Italy obsessed with trying all types of pasta. But our new friend, a Ukrainian woman who has lived in Italy for more than 10 years (I already wrote about her), recommended that when we go to Rome for a walk, we must try eggplant Parmigiano.
Considering that we are fans of vegetables, and especially tomatoes, we didn’t even think twice, and as soon as lunch time came, we went to the first establishment we came across, and without even looking at the menu, we ordered these same eggplants.
When we arrived home, I really wanted to repeat this dish at home. I started looking for recipes and watching videos. Then I learned that there are two types of eggplant Parmigiano: Roman and Tuscan. They differ in the way they fry the eggplants. In Rome, eggplant slices are dried and fried in vegetable oil, while in the Tuscan region they are dipped in an egg and flour batter and then fried.
In addition, while I was looking for my perfect eggplant parmigiano recipe, I was incredibly lucky, the search results YOUTUBE invited me to watch a video where an ordinary Italian lady prepares these eggplants in her kitchen, and her Russian daughter-in-law films her on video and comments. Therefore, believe me, the recipe that I described on my blog is the most Italian and original, but slightly adapted to our food capabilities.
Let's get started.

Ingredients:
Medium eggplants - 3 pcs.
Parmesan cheese - 200 gr.
Mozzarella cheese - 200 gr.
Salt

For the marinara sauce:
Tomato paste (or pulp of ripe tomatoes) - 800 gr.
Olive oil - 60 ml.
Garlic - 3-4 teeth.
Fresh green basil 3 tbsp. l.;
Salt - 1 tsp;
Ground black pepper - 0.5 tsp.

Preparation:
1. Wash the eggplants under cold running water and cut into thin slices lengthwise.
2. Sprinkle the eggplant slices with salt and leave for about an hour.

Prepare the marinara sauce.
3. I took 400 grams of tomato paste and 400 grams. fresh tomatoes. I scalded the tomatoes with boiling water, removed the skins from them and grated them.
4. Heat olive oil in a saucepan.
5. Place peeled garlic cloves in it, wait until it starts to emit a pleasant aroma (about 1-2 minutes) and send it there tomato paste and tomato pulp. Add a few fresh basil leaves here, bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 20-25 minutes. Then remove from heat and cover with a lid. (don’t forget to stir the sauce periodically while cooking)

Cooking eggplants.
6. Take several slices of eggplant and squeeze them forcefully. (To be honest, I didn’t have the strength to squeeze them out properly, so I couldn’t find anything else but to lay out a towel (which I don’t mind), laid out the eggplants on it, rolled them up and squeezed them out. Then the excess moisture really went away, and they became as they should have become.

!!!Important!!! When squeezing the eggplants, do not pour the released water into the sink, but return it back to the bowl with the eggplants. As the Italians themselves say, only in this case will the eggplants have the correct texture and taste.

7. Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan and fry the eggplants on both sides (until crispy) in the end they should turn out like chips.

So, while one batch of eggplants is frying, squeeze out new ones. We do this operation in a circle until we have cooked all the eggplants.

8. Grate Parmesan cheese.
9. Tear the mozzarella cheese into pieces.
10. Preheat the oven to 180C.
11. Take a baking dish and coat the bottom with a few tablespoons of sauce.
12. Place a layer of eggplant slices on top of the sauce.
13. Add a few spoons of sauce again.
14. Sprinkle with Parmesan and a few pieces of mozzarella cheese.
15. Place a new layer of eggplant on top of the mozzarella, pour sauce over them, sprinkle with Parmesan and mozzarella.
We do this until all the eggplants and sauce are gone.
Place our dish in the oven for 30-40 minutes (until the top layer of cheese melts.

It is advisable to serve this dish warm while the cheese stretches and releases its spicy aromas. (Although this dish is no worse cold)

P.S. You probably noticed that I didn't add salt to the sauce. I did this deliberately, because the eggplants will already be slightly salted, Parmesan is by definition salty, and if we also add salt to the sauce, then believe me (tried) it will be impossible to eat this dish!

Bon appetit!

The way of the eggplant

Before taking a worthy position in the restaurant menu and a place on our kitchen table, eggplant has come a long way.

For example, in Ancient Greece they believed that this plant was poisonous. The Greeks called the eggplant the “rabies apple” or “madness apple.” Allegedly, eating eggplant deprived a person of his mind.

By the way, eggplant’s relatives (potatoes and tomatoes) too for a long time were considered outcasts.

Today, eggplant is cooked all over the world. Particularly in Europe, and especially in Italy.

But in general, wild eggplant originates in India. It is even mentioned in Sanskrit manuscripts.

Then this plant appeared in Japan and China. And only in the Middle Ages did eggplant find its way to Europe. Where for centuries it was considered ornamental plant. And the fact that eggplant can be eaten was understood only in the 19th century.

Moreover, a variety of eggplant that is rare today was widespread. Not dark purple, as we are used to, but white. IN English language Eggplant is called eggplant - “plant egg”. The white fruits of this plant resembled chicken eggs.

By the way, the size of the fruit can vary from 3 to 35 cm.

And further. Many people consider eggplant a vegetable, but in fact it is a berry. Like a watermelon.

Special properties of eggplant

Eggplant contains a strong antioxidant (nionin), which protects brain membranes from free radicals. Prevents cancer.

The fruits of the plant have a bitter taste. Interestingly, the smaller the fruit, the sweeter it is. The bitter taste comes from the nicotine present in the seeds of the plant. But there's no need to worry. To get the dose of nicotine contained in one cigarette, you need to eat 9 kg of eggplant in one go.

This berry has very delicate fiber. It improves digestion and reduces cholesterol levels in the blood.

The plant is rich in potassium, which is extremely beneficial for the functioning of the heart and removes excess fluid from the body. Eggplant helps with gout. Has low calorie content. So very suitable for various types diets

Eggplants make excellent preparations.

Eggplant Parmigiano in Italian is a gourmet dish. Gourmets generally love this berry for its uniqueness: raw fruits smell like mushrooms, and fried fruits taste like veal.

Italian eggplant Parmigiano comes in two varieties: Roman and Tuscan.

In the first case, the fruit is cut, dried, and then fried. In the second, before frying, eggplant pieces are placed in a mixture of eggs and flour.

We offer you an original Italian-style eggplant Parmigiano recipe, which we have slightly adapted to our realities.

Compound:

• Medium eggplants – 3 pcs.
• Parmesan cheese – 200 gr.
• Mozzarella cheese – 200 gr.

For the Marinara sauce:

• Tomato paste (or pulp of ripe tomatoes) – 800 gr.
• Olive oil – 60 ml.
• Garlic – 3-4 teeth.
• Fresh green basil 3 tbsp. l.;
• Salt – 1 tsp;
• Ground black pepper – 0.5 tsp.

Cooking method:

1. Wash the eggplants under cold running water and cut into thin slices lengthwise.

2. Sprinkle the eggplant slices with salt and leave for about an hour.

Preparing Marinara Sauce

3. Take 400 grams of tomato paste and 400 grams of fresh tomatoes. Scald the tomatoes with boiling water, remove the skin and grate them.

4. Heat olive oil in a saucepan.

5. Place peeled garlic cloves in it, wait until it starts to emit a pleasant aroma (about 1-2 minutes) and add tomato paste and tomato pulp there. Add a few fresh basil leaves here, bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low and cook for about 20-25 minutes. Then remove from heat and cover with a lid (do not forget to stir the sauce periodically while cooking).

Cooking eggplants

6. Take several slices of eggplant and squeeze them forcefully. You can do this through a towel for better effect.

Important!!! When squeezing the eggplants, do not pour the released water into the sink, but return it back to the bowl with the eggplants. As the Italians themselves say, only in this case will the eggplants have the correct texture and taste.

7. Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan and fry the eggplants on both sides (until crispy). In the end they should turn out like chips.

While one batch of eggplants is frying, squeeze out new ones. We perform this operation in a circle.

8. Grate Parmesan cheese.

9. Tear the Mozzarella cheese into pieces.

10. Preheat the oven to 180C.

11. Take a baking dish and coat the bottom with a few tablespoons of sauce.

12. Place a layer of eggplant slices on top of the sauce.

13. Add a few spoons of sauce again.

14. Sprinkle with Parmesan and a few pieces of Mozzarella cheese.

15. Place a new layer of eggplant on top of the mozzarella, pour sauce over it, sprinkle with Parmesan and mozzarella.
Repeat until all the eggplants and sauce are gone.

16. Place our dish in the oven for 30-40 minutes (until the top layer of cheese melts).

It is advisable to serve the dish warm, while the cheese stretches and releases its spicy aromas (although cold is no worse).

P.S. You probably noticed that we didn't add salt to the sauce. The fact is that the eggplants will already be slightly salty due to the Parmesan. Salt can be added to taste to the finished dish.

Parmigiano- Italian eggplant appetizer, which can be eaten cold, warm, or hot.

This means you can prepare it at any time, don’t be afraid to make too much, everyone will definitely eat it. It's so delicious!

Eggplant Parmigiano - general cooking principles

Parmigiano is made from fried eggplant slices.

The vegetable is cut into flat pieces, soaked in salted or simply cold water.

Before frying, you can sprinkle the pieces with flour and dip them in the egg.

After these manipulations, the crust appears faster, the product does not absorb much oil.

Pepper of different types;

Onions, carrots (not always included);

The dish is assembled in layers in a refractory form, chopped mozzarella is added to the edge of the eggplant and sauce. To make the layers stick together better, you can add hard cheese, but in small quantities. Usually it's Parmesan. The number of layers can be made arbitrarily, it all depends on the capabilities of the form. The dish is baked in the oven. Since all the ingredients are almost ready for use, 15-20 minutes is enough. Less often the time is increased to half an hour. There is no need to cover the form.

Eggplant Parmigiano with mozzarella and parmesan

Recipe gorgeous eggplants Parmigiano with two types of cheese. Instead of Parmesan, you can use any hard variety, but nothing can replace mozzarella. Mozzarella can be made at home.

400 g tomatoes;

300 g mozzarella;

3 cloves of garlic;

1. Cut the eggplants into circles. Place in cold water for ten minutes, then drain the liquid and squeeze out the pieces.

2. Dip the eggplants in flour, then bathe them in beaten egg and fry in a frying pan until golden brown. It will form on eggs very quickly.

3. Pour a little oil into the frying pan, add the diced tomatoes, simmer until soft. Season the sauce with basil, salt, and garlic. You can add a little mozzarella brine.

4. Assembling the dish. Place a little tomato sauce on the bottom of an ovenproof dish, then the fried eggplants, a little grated Parmesan cheese and half the chopped mozzarella. Now again tomato sauce, eggplants, cheeses.

5. Cut cherry tomatoes in half and decorate the dish on top.

6. Place the pan with eggplants in the oven. Parmigiano is baked for a quarter of an hour at 170 degrees.

Eggplant Parmigiano with minced meat

A hearty baked eggplant recipe. For this option, you can use any minced meat, but not fatty. Otherwise, the dish will turn out too oily.

500 g of tomatoes in their juice;

250 g mozzarella;

2 cloves of garlic;

4 spoons of hard cheese;

1. Washed eggplants need to be cut into circles. Thickness 0.6-0.7 centimeters. Soak in water and dry.

2. Roll in flour, fry in oil. Place the pieces in a well-heated frying pan so that they do not absorb the oil.

3. Fry the minced meat separately, add chopped tomatoes in their juice and garlic. Simmer until most of the liquid has evaporated. Season the meat mixture with Provencal herbs, pepper, and salt.

4. Cut the mozzarella into thin slices.

5. Assemble the dish. Place a thin layer of minced meat in the pan, top it with half the fried eggplants, mozzarella, half of the minced meat that is left, sprinkle with two tablespoons of Parmesan.

6. Repeat: eggplant, mozzarella, minced meat with tomatoes, Parmesan.

7. Bake in the oven for a quarter of an hour. Do not set the temperature for eggplants high, 170-180 degrees is enough.

Eggplant Parmigiano with onions and carrots

A variant of eggplant with a very juicy, aromatic layer of vegetables. Mozzarella is also added to this dish, but in small quantities. Eggplants are not fried in a pan, which reduces cooking time.

150 g mozzarella;

100 g hard cheese;

500 g tomatoes;

4 cloves of garlic;

1 tsp. Provençal herbs;

1. Cut the eggplants into long strips, brush olive oil, place on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes in the oven at 200 degrees.

2. In a frying pan, prepare a sauté of chopped onions and grated carrots.

3. Make cuts on the tomatoes, lower them into boiling water for half a minute, cool sharply in water, remove the skin.

4. Cut the peeled tomatoes into small cubes, add to the vegetables in the frying pan, and evaporate the water. The sauce should be thick. Chop the parsley and add to it.

5. Grate the cheese; you can immediately divide it into three parts.

6. Place a third of the minced vegetables in the dish, then the eggplants, pieces of mozzarella, the vegetables again and sprinkle with a third of the hard cheese.

7. Repeat layers two more times.

8. Send for baking. Eggplants cook quickly, a quarter of an hour is enough.

Spicy Eggplant Parmigiano with Roasted Peppers

A recipe for spicy eggplants, the filling for which is mainly prepared from bell pepper. If you don't have a chili pod, you can spice it up with ground red pepper.

300 g mozzarella;

70 g hard cheese;

2 cloves of garlic;

1. Cut into slices, soaked eggplant slices, roll in flour, bathe in beaten egg and fry in a frying pan.

2. Place the washed bell peppers on a wire rack in the oven and bake until golden brown. Cool.

3. Finely chop the baked peppers, chop the garlic and chili pod.

4. Chop the tomatoes in any way, fry for two minutes in a frying pan, add pepper and garlic to them, stir, turn off the stove.

5. The vegetable filling needs to be seasoned with herbs and spices.

6. Mozzarella is cut into thin slices.

7. Layer a dish of eggplant, mozzarella and spicy vegetable sauce.

8. Sprinkle the top of the dish with grated cheese.

9. Place in the oven and cook Parmigiano for a quarter of an hour or until a delicious cheese crust appears on top.

Eggplant Parmigiano with chicken

Another version of eggplant with a hearty filling. For Parmigiano it is better not to use chicken breast, and trimmed flesh from the thigh. It turns out much more gentle with her. The turkey dish is prepared in the same way.

400 g canned tomatoes;

2 cloves of garlic;

1 bell pepper;

200 g mozzarella;

1 cup of grated hard cheese;

Oil, flour for frying eggplants and chicken.

1. Dip the washed eggplant mugs in flour and fry a little in a frying pan.

2. The onion is finely chopped and also fried, but not for long. One minute is enough.

3. Add chicken pulp cut into small cubes to the onions. Fry for another five minutes.

4. Chop the pepper finely and place it in a frying pan with the rest of the ingredients.

5. C canned tomatoes remove skin, chop, add to chicken. Season the filling with herbs and garlic.

6. Cool the minced meat, cut the mozzarella.

7. Assemble the dish in layers: eggplant, grated cheese, chicken with vegetables, mozzarella. Repeat several times.

8. The top can be covered with grated cheese, or placed in circles fresh tomatoes, do what you like best.

9. Bake in the oven for 15 to 25 minutes. Before serving, let the eggplants cool slightly and firm up, then cut into pieces.

Eggplant Parmigiano with zucchini

Variant of puff pastry with the addition of zucchini. If desired, you can add a little meat or minced chicken, the taste will not suffer from this.

1 kg of tomatoes in their own juice;

1 head of garlic;

400 g mozzarella;

1 tsp. Italian herbs;

1. Eggplants and zucchini for this dish can be cut into slices or long tongues.

2. Beat the eggs until foamy, roll the vegetable pieces in flour, then dip them in the egg and fry on both sides.

3. Place chopped onion in a frying pan with oil, brown, add crushed tomatoes in their juice, and reduce the sauce.

5. Cut the mozzarella as you like, divide into 4 parts.

6. Tomato sauce you need to grease the mold, lay out a layer of eggplant, then mozzarella, again the sauce, which is sprinkled with a little Parmesan, just a little bit for the strength of the structure.

7. Now lay out a layer of eggplant, mozzarella, sauce and Parmesan.

8. Repeat layer again with eggplant and zucchini.

9. The top is sprinkled with Parmesan.

10. The dish is baked until the top crust is golden brown, but no more than half an hour. Oven temperature 180.

To prevent eggplants from being saturated with oil, frying is done in a frying pan with non-stick coating. In this case, a few drops of oil are enough.

If there is no mixture of Provencal herbs, then you can use the ingredients separately: oregano, basil, savory, rosemary, marjoram. But parsley, cilantro, and dill also go well with eggplants. You can use fresh herbs, just chop them finely.

If the eggplants turn out to be fatty, then the pieces should be laid out in one layer on paper towels, covered with them on top, and pressed with your hands. Excess oil will go away.

To reduce the cooking time, you can fry the eggplants in the oven. Place the vegetables in an oven heated to 200-220 degrees, be sure to coat the pieces with oil.