Find a recipe by the avaliable engredients Your Cooking Assistant
Set the ingredients

Grandma's Italian Eggplant Parmigiana

4

575 min

Grandma's Italian Eggplant Parmigiana

Grandma's Italian Eggplant Parmigiana Photo 1

Category

Egg appetizer

Time

575 min

Serving

12 persons

Calories

569

Rating

4.00★ (6)

Cuisine

Italian
Author: Victoria Buriak
This heirloom family Italian eggplant parmesan recipe came stateside with my grandmother when she immigrated from Italy. Growing up in a house with Italian sauce made every Sunday, this eggplant dish was always a favorite. Using good quality ingredients is critical for this recipe. It is very time-consuming and laborious. It would be a shame to invest all of this time and effort with inferior ingredients only to be let down when you eat it later.

Ingredients

  • medium Italian eggplants, peeled and: 2 piece (cut into 1/4 inch slices)
  • all-purpose flour, sifted: 2 cups
  • sea salt: 3 Tbsp (to taste)
  • ground black pepper: 1 Tbsp (to taste)
  • eggs, room temperature: 5 piece
  • water, room temperature: 3 Tbsp
  • extra-virgin olive oil: 0.5 cup (or as needed)
  • freshly grated Pecorino-Romano cheese: 2 cups (divided)
  • ounces Italian-style tomato sauce: 40 piece
  • freshly grated Parmesan cheese: 2 cups
  • ounces freshly grated mozzarella cheese: 30 piece

Metric Conversion

Stages of cooking

Grandma's Italian Eggplant Parmigiana Photo 21
Grandma's Italian Eggplant Parmigiana Photo 32
Grandma's Italian Eggplant Parmigiana Photo 43
Grandma's Italian Eggplant Parmigiana Photo 54
Grandma's Italian Eggplant Parmigiana Photo 65
Grandma's Italian Eggplant Parmigiana Photo 76
Grandma's Italian Eggplant Parmigiana Photo 87
Grandma's Italian Eggplant Parmigiana Photo 98
Grandma's Italian Eggplant Parmigiana Photo 109
Grandma's Italian Eggplant Parmigiana Photo 1110
  1. Lay eggplant slices on top of paper towels and sprinkle with sea salt to draw out moisture. Cover with additional paper towels. Let sit, 8 hours to overnight.
    Grandma's Italian Eggplant Parmigiana Photo 2
  2. Place flour into a 1-gallon resealable plastic bag. Add salt and pepper; shake the bag to mix. Place 6 eggplant slices into the bag, seal, and shake to coat.
    Grandma's Italian Eggplant Parmigiana Photo 3
  3. Beat eggs and water together using a fork in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
    Grandma's Italian Eggplant Parmigiana Photo 4
  4. Heat 2 inches of oil over medium-high heat in a 10-inch cast iron skillet. Line baking sheets with paper towels to drain eggplants after frying.
    Grandma's Italian Eggplant Parmigiana Photo 5
  5. Shake excess flour from eggplant slices and place into egg mixture, turning to ensure both sides are coated. Allow excess egg mixture to drip off.
    Grandma's Italian Eggplant Parmigiana Photo 6
  6. Fry in hot oil until slightly golden, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer to the paper towel-lined baking sheets. Sprinkle each slice with 1 tablespoon Pecorino Romano cheese. Repeat process until all eggplant slices are fried. Let cool slightly, about 5 minutes.
    Grandma's Italian Eggplant Parmigiana Photo 7
  7. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
    Grandma's Italian Eggplant Parmigiana Photo 8
  8. Pour a small amount of tomato sauce into the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking pan to cover.
    Grandma's Italian Eggplant Parmigiana Photo 9
  9. Place 1/3 of the eggplant slices over sauce, slightly overlapping them. Sprinkle 1/3 of the remaining Pecorino-Romano cheese and Parmesan cheese evenly on top. Cover with a light layer of sauce. Sprinkle 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese over sauce. Repeat for a total of 3 layers.
    Grandma's Italian Eggplant Parmigiana Photo 10
  10. Bake in the preheated oven until bubbly, about 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes to set.
    Grandma's Italian Eggplant Parmigiana Photo 11

How did you like this article?

You may also like