Melanzane alla
Parmigiana
Layered eggplant, tomato & cheese bake
Fried eggplant slices are layered with tomato, basil and melting cheese, then baked and rested before cutting into soft portions.
An individual stack; the recipe makes one shared bakeSoft layers,
a southern Italian bake.
Melanzane alla parmigiana layers eggplant with tomato sauce and cheese. Frying makes the slices soft and rich, while basil brightens the sauce. A short rest after baking helps the layers hold together when a portion is lifted from the dish.
Campania and Sicily both have well-established traditions, with differences in cheese, coating and extra fillings. A single birthplace is disputed. The home recipe below chooses plain fried eggplant, fiordilatte mozzarella and Parmigiano in a shared baking dish. It can be a vegetable main or a smaller starter; the stacked individual serving in the photo is another presentation.
Regional connections: Campania · Sicily
Explore by food: Vegetables & cheese
At the table: Antipasti · Secondi.
Let’s make melanzane alla parmigiana.
One 20 × 25 cm baking dish, serving four as a main or six as a starter. The photo shows an individual stack with a tomato garnish; this recipe makes shared layers.
Four vegetable-main portions or six starter portions in a 20 × 25 cm baking dish.
Fry the eggplant while the sauce simmers and the oven heats. The total includes a 20-minute rest after baking.
What you’ll need
- 1 kgeggplant, trimmed and sliced lengthwise 5 mm thick
- 700 gtomato passata
- 300 gfiordilatte mozzarella, drained weight, diced
- 70 gParmigiano-Reggiano, finely grated
- 80 gonion, finely chopped
- 30 mlextra-virgin olive oil
- 600 mlsunflower oil, for frying
- 12basil leaves, torn
- 50 mlwater, for the sauce
- to tastefine salt and black pepper
Frying, sauce simmering and oven heating happen alongside each other. The cooking allowance includes batch frying, assembly and the bake. This method does not salt and drain the eggplant in advance. The photographed tomato slice and purple-basil garnish are not part of this shared bake.
How to make it
- 01
Drain and prepare
Drain diced mozzarella in a sieve in the refrigerator while preparing everything else. Pat eggplant slices dry. Heat a conventional oven to 200°C/390°F.
- 02
Make the tomato sauce
Warm the olive oil in a saucepan. Soften onion for 7 minutes, then add passata, the measured water and six basil leaves. Simmer partly covered for 30 minutes, stirring, until thick enough to spread. Season with salt and pepper.
- 03
Fry the eggplant
While the sauce simmers, heat sunflower oil in a wide skillet to about 170°C/340°F. Fry slices in uncrowded batches for about 2 minutes per side until golden and flexible. Drain in layers on kitchen paper and salt lightly. Allow 30–35 minutes for all batches; recover the oil temperature between them.
- 04
Layer the dish
Spread a little sauce in the baking dish. Add a layer of eggplant, then some sauce, mozzarella, Parmigiano and the remaining six torn basil leaves. Repeat, using all ingredients and ending with tomato and cheeses.
- 05
Bake and rest
Bake for 30–35 minutes until bubbling throughout with golden cheese patches. Rest for 20 minutes before cutting, so the layers settle and portions lift more easily.
More to discover…
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Slow-cooked onions, celery and tomatoes make a savory broth, served over toasted bread with an egg and grated pecorino.
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