This is one of my familie’s favourite Italian dishes. It can be served hot or at room temperature. Goes wonderfully well with crusty Italian bread.
3 Eggplants (thinly sliced lengthways)
1 cup of Olive Oil (for frying)
300 grams of Tomato Paste
1/2 cup of Marjoram
1 Spanish Onion (finely chopped)
1 clove Garlic (finely chopped)
Salt (to lightly salt the eggplant)
3/4 cup of grated Parmigiano Cheese
1/2 cup of water Pepper to taste
Preparation Time: 1 hour & 30 minutes
Serves: 6-8 (As an accompaniment to a meal)
Wash and pat dry the eggplants. Thinly slice the eggplants lengthways and sprinkle lightly with salt to draw out the moisture. Allow to stand for approximately 20 minutes. 
Heat oil in the frying pan. Pat dry the sliced eggplant with a paper towel before adding to the hot pan. If the oil is too hot reduce the heat to medium and allow the eggplants to soften and become golden in colour. When you have cooked all the eggplant place aside and allow to cool a little. 
In a pan place some oil and fry the onions until they are translucent then add the garlic and continue cooking until they are soft. Add the Marjoram to the pan and then add the tomato paste and continue cooking for a few more minutes. Add the water and pepper, stir the sauce and continue to cook for a approximately 5 minutes. Ensure that the sauce is thick in consistency as this will enable you to slice the Eggplant Parmigiana. 
At the bottom of an oven proof dish place some of the tomato sauce, sprinkle some grated cheese and then add the sliced eggplant. Repeat this until you have finished layering. On the top layer place some more tomato sauce and sprinkle generously with the remaining cheese. Pre heat the oven at 180° and bake for approximately 20-30 minutes. A lovely golden cheese crust should form on the top. Allow to cool a little before serving or serve at room temperature. 
Cook’s Tips
I do not add extra salt to the dish as the eggplants are salted before cooking. However, I add pepper to the sauce. Whilst the dish is baking in the oven, do check it to ensure it doesn’t brown too quickly on top. I always make this dish a day or two days ahead. Once baked allow it to cool down and then refrigerate until you are ready to serve. This allows all the wonderful flavours to infuse. I like to serve it at room temperature in summer. Take the Parmigiana out of the fridge and allow to stand for approximately 1 hour or a little longer before serving. In winter I warm it up in the oven then allow to stand for 15 minutes slice and serve. This dish goes very well with crusty Italian bread.
Enjoy!
5 Responses
I love eggplants and was always looking out Italian egg plant recipes. Thanks for sharing
Your welcome. I also have a fabulous Southern Indian Eggplant Curry Recipe which I will share in the future. Perhaps you can give me some feedback when I post it. It’s one of our favourite curries. 🙂 🙂
Reblogged this on Milanka's Fine Food and commented:
This is a wonderful classic Sicilian dish. I shared this recipe a while ago and as I mentioned briefly in the post it’s a favourite in our family. It is always served on special occasions and festivities. For those who enjoy vegetarian food and eggplant dishes you cannot go past this dish. I had visitors from Hong Kong last year and prepared an Italian dinner for them and Eggplant Parmigiana was on the menu. They were surprised, delighted and enjoyed every bit of it. The tray was empty very quickly. It was a pleasure watching them enjoy this dish.
This looks yummy, Milanka! I have always wanted to try making eggplant parmigana. Every time I see eggplants at the store I think about it. They are such a beautiful vegetable besides. I just like looking at them! 🙂 Can you believe we grew them in our garden, and I never made this? I don’t know why. Saving your recipe. Thanks so much!
Hello Shari, lovely to hear from you. I hope you are well. If you have eggplants in your garden wow…. Well done. I grew the Lebanese variety one year (the thin long ones, small in size). They were fun to grow. I still prefer the large variety as it reminds me of Italy, especially Sicily… This dish is my husband’s favourite. I forgot to mention this recipe was handed to me from my mother in law. The recipe has a little bit of her and a little bit of me in it. I hope you enjoy making it…. Cheers from Melbourne. Milanka