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Eggplant Parmesan Recipe

Baked Eggplant Recipe

This is a lighter version of the usual Eggplant Parmesan Recipe. I am mad about eggplant parmigiana recipes, but I hate greasy food, and invariably, the eggplant is saturated in oil.

So, I have reworked the eggplant parm recipe to produce one of those heart healthy recipes you can enjoy without a guilt-trip. Eggplant is very greedy and will soak up as much oil as you give it. For this reason, this is a baked eggplant recipe, using a flick of oil. It means that you use more eggplant, but you obviate using gallons of oil.

A little effort

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Serves: 4 - 6 as a main meal, 8 - 12 as a side dish

Ingredients:

6 large aubergines

2 medium onions, chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed

8 fresh tomatoes, chopped (seeds and all)

2 tablespoons tomato paste

½ cup tomato sauce

1 cup vegetable stock

2 tablespoons sugar

¼ teaspoon black pepper

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup fresh basil, chopped

1 cup Parmesan cheese, very finely grated

½ cup fresh breadcrumbs

You will need a large casserole dish, baking trays and a frying pan.

Method:

Brush a couple of large baking sheets lightly with oil. Slice the eggplants into ¼ inch / 5 mm slices. Place the slices on the baking sheets in a single layer. Brush the slices lightly with oil. (It really doesn't matter if the whole slice is not covered in oil - just a flick will do.) Bake at 350° F / 180° C for about 20 minutes. Turn the slices over and cook for another 20 minutes.
Brown the onions until they are a deep caramel color. This helps to give the dish flavor. Add the garlic and cook for a further minute.
Add the tomatoes and cook until the mixture is "pulpy" and the tomatoes are well cooked. Add the tomato paste, tomato sauce, vegetable stock, sugar, black pepper and salt. Add the fresh basil. Cook until the sauce is thick. A good test is to pull a wooden spoon through the mixture. If you can see the bottom of the pan clearly, then the mixture is probably thick enough.
Place ½ cup tomato mixture over the bottom of the casserole dish. Place a layer of eggplant rings over this. They should not overlap. Pour over 2 cups of tomato sauce. Sprinkle over ¼ cup Parmesan cheese. Repeat the process twice more. On the top layer mix together the remaining ½ cup of Parmesan with the ½ cup of breadcrumbs and scatter over.
Bake at 350° F / 180 ° C for about ½ hour until the top is slightly brown and crunchy.
Serve this easy Eggplant Parmesan recipe with a very simple green salad. Alternatively, serve it as a side dish.

Healthy meal planning tip - for this Eggplant Parmesan Recipe, you may use leftovers from any of the following recipes: Tomato Sauce Recipe, Pasta Sauce Recipe or Salsa Recipe for Canning Tomatoes.