• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Flavor of Italy

  • HOME
  • PODCAST
    • Food Episodes
    • Wine Episodes
    • Food & Wine Episodes
    • Travel Episodes
    • Lifestyle & Culture Episodes
    • Artists & Artisans Episodes
    • All Episodes
  • TRIPS & TRAVEL
    • My Top Travel Picks
    • When in Rome
    • Day Trips in Italy
    • Weekend Trips in Italy
    • Week-long Trips in Italy
    • Discover the Italian Regions
  • RECIPES
    • Trending Recipes
    • Antipasti (Appetizers)
    • Primi (First Course)
    • Pasta (First Course)
    • Secondi (Main Course)
    • Contorni (Side Dishes)
    • Breads
    • Desserts
  • ABOUT
  • EBOOKS
  • Generic selectors
    Exact matches only
    Search in title
    Search in content
    Post Type Selectors
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
  • HOME
  • PODCAST
    • Food Episodes
    • Wine Episodes
    • Food & Wine Episodes
    • Travel Episodes
    • Lifestyle & Culture Episodes
    • Artists & Artisans Episodes
    • All Episodes
  • TRIPS & TRAVEL
    • My Top Travel Picks
    • When in Rome
    • Day Trips in Italy
    • Weekend Trips in Italy
    • Week-long Trips in Italy
    • Discover the Italian Regions
  • RECIPES
    • Trending Recipes
    • Antipasti (Appetizers)
    • Primi (First Course)
    • Pasta (First Course)
    • Secondi (Main Course)
    • Contorni (Side Dishes)
    • Breads
    • Desserts
  • ABOUT
  • EBOOKS
  • Connect

    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Twitter
  • ×

    June 29, 2021

    Eggplant Parmesan

    Eggplant Parmesan is one of my favorite dishes, and one I make a lot when we have our summer garden.
    You can roast or grill the eggplant, but it doesn't yield the same flavor and texture satisfaction that frying does.
    Everyone has a different idea on how to prepare eggplant for frying: peel or not, salt & drain first, dip first in egg and/or flour or not. I suppose I've opted for the simplest procedure and it works perfectly.

    These striated eggplants are from our summer garden, although I used elongated, dark purple eggplant in this recipe.

    StripedEggplants

    When eggplant is fresh and tender I don't salt and drain because the eggplant hasn't become bitter yet. I dip the slices in egg, then dip in flour and move right to the frying. Eggplants are like sponges so you need to fry in very hot oil kept at an even temperature to avoid burning the slices.
    Have plenty of old newspapers on hand. They're great for absorbing excess oil. Spread them out, cover with paper towels or absorbent paper and you're good to go.
    Sometimes I bake the eggplant Parmesan in individual cooking rings; the presentation is lovely.

    Eggplant Parmesan

    Eggplant Parmesan

    Serves 6-8

    Eggplant Parmesan Ingredients

    Eggplant, 4 large or 6 medium, peeled or not, about 3 kilograms (6.6 pounds)
    For the sauce or tomatoes:Tomatoes, peeled, canned or fresh, 750 grams (26 ½ ounces)
    Olive oil, 4 tablespoons
    Garlic, one large clove, minced
    Onion, one medium, finely chopped
    Salt, 2 teaspoons
    OR:
    5 large ripe tomatoes, sliced thinly: about ¼ centimeter (1/10 inch)
    Olive oil for drizzling, about ½ cupFor frying the eggplant:
    3 eggs, lightly beaten, to dip the eggplant slices
    Flour, for dusting the eggplant slices, about 1 cup
    Oil for frying, preferably peanut oil, ½ to 1 liter (2 to 4 cups)
    Mozzarella, drained, cut into small cubes or strips, ½ kilogram (1.1 pounds)
    Parmesan cheese, freshly grated, about 1 cup
    Basil leaves, abut twenty, torn into pieces

    Optional special equipment: Stainless steel food rings  9 centimeters (3 ½ inch) in diameter & 5 centimeters (2 inches) high

    Food rings

    Eggplant Parmesan Cooking Instructions

    Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F).
    For the sauce or tomatoes:Sauté the garlic and onion in the olive oil until tender and translucent.
    Add the tomatoes and simmer covered on low about 20 to 30 minutes.
    OR:
    Thinly slice the tomatoes: about ¼ centimeter (1/10 inch)
    Fry the eggplant:
    While the sauce is cooking begin preparing the eggplants. Slice the eggplant into roughly ¼ to ⅓ inch slices (½ centimeter) thickness.Dip the slices into the beaten eggs.
    Dust the slices with flour. 
    Fry the eggplant slices, a few at a time, then drain on paper towels laid on top of newspapers for extra absorption.
    Line a baking sheet with oven paper and place the food rings on top of the sheet.
    Alternatively, use a standard lasagna pan.
    To assemble the eggplant:
    Assemble the eggplant Parmesan, in alternating layers: first sauce (or a drizzling of olive oil and tomato slices), eggplant, then sauce or tomato slices, basil leaves, then mozzarella, then Parmesan.
    Once the molds or lasagna pan are full, top each one with a generous sprinkling of Parmesan cheese.
    Bake for 30 minutes at 190° C (375°F), until the tops are golden.Top lightly wit tin foil if the eggplant browns too much.
    Allow to cool slightly, remove from the food rings, and serve the Eggplant Parmesan.

    Eggplant Parmesan

    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Rate Recipe

    Equipment

    • Optional special equipment: Stainless steel food rings  roughly 9 centimeters (3 ½ inch) in diameter & 5 centimeters (2 inches) high.

    Ingredients 
    Metric - U.S. Customary

    • 3 kilograms Eggplant 4 large or 6 medium, peeled or not, about 3 kilograms

    For the sauce or tomatoes:


    • 750 grams Tomatoes peeled, canned or fresh
    • 4 tablespoons Olive oil
    • 1 Garlic clove minced
    • 1 Onion medium, finely chopped
    • Salt

      2 teaspoons


    OR:

    • 5 Tomatoes large ripe tomatoes, sliced thinly: about ¼ centimeter (1/10 inch)
    • Olive oil for drizzling

      about ½ cup


    For frying the eggplant:

    • 3 eggs lightly beaten, to dip the eggplant slices
    • 1 ½ cup Flour for dusting the eggplant slices, about 1 cup
    • ½ liter Oil for frying preferably peanut oil or other vegetable oil

    For assembling the eggplant parmesan:

    • ½ kilogram Mozzarella drained, cut into small cubes or strips
    • 1 cup Parmesan cheese freshly grated
    • 20 Basil leaves abut twenty, torn into pieces

    Instructions

    • Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F).

    For the sauce, or tomatoes:


    • Sauté the garlic and onion in the olive oil until tender and translucent.
    • Add the tomatoes and simmer covered on low about 20 to 30 minutes.


    
OR:


    • Thinly slice the tomatoes: about ¼ centimeter (1/10 inch)

    Fry the eggplant:

    • While the sauce is cooking begin preparing the eggplants. 

    • 
Slice the eggplant into roughly ¼ to ⅓ inch slices (½ centimeter) thickness.
    • Dip the slices into the beaten eggs.
    • Dust the slices with flour.
    • Fry the eggplant slices, a few at a time, then drain on paper towels laid on top of newspapers for extra absorption.

    To assemble the eggplant:

    • Line a baking sheet with oven paper and place the food rings on top of the sheet.
    • Alternatively, use a standard lasagna pan.
    • Assemble the eggplant Parmesan, in alternating layers: first sauce (or a drizzling of olive oil and tomato slices), eggplant, then sauce or tomato slices, basil leaves, then mozzarella, then Parmesan.
    • Once the molds or lasagna pan are full, top each one with a generous sprinkling of Parmesan cheese.
    • Bake for 30 minutes at 190° C (375°F), until the tops are golden.

    • Top lightly wit tin foil if the eggplant browns too much.
    • Allow to cool slightly, remove from the food rings, and serve.
      Eggplant Parmesan

    Nutrition

    Serving: 150grams | Calories: 8724kcal | Carbohydrates: 399g | Protein: 226g | Fat: 716g | Saturated Fat: 180g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 177g | Monounsaturated Fat: 318g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 954mg | Sodium: 9714mg | Potassium: 11158mg | Fiber: 114g | Sugar: 153g | Vitamin A: 17359IU | Vitamin C: 264mg | Calcium: 4266mg | Iron: 26mg
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

    You may also be interested in:

    Share On:

    More Recipes

    • soft shell crabs
      Blue Crab Italy
    • How Cookbooks Travel Across Cultures
    • Making Italian mozzarella cheese
      Tano, the Italian Cheese Sommelier
    • Anchovies in a can, and on toast with tomatoes
      Anchovies: The Tiny Fish Making Big Waves

    Reader Interactions

    Please leave your comment here. Your feedback is important!Cancel reply

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    About

    Wendy at Roscioli
    I’m American and I’ve lived in Italy for nearly four decades with my Italian family. My passion and strength lies in sharing Italian stories, recipes and unique travel insights on my blog, my Flavor of Italy trips and tours, newsletter and podcast. Continue Reading...

    Follow Flavor of Italy

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter

    Latest Additions

    • Pope Leo and the People's Conclave: A New Era Begins
    • Bomarzo Monster Park
    • Discovering the Biblioteca Angelica
    • Blue Crab Italy
    • The Glassmaker
    • How Cookbooks Travel Across Cultures
    • Exploring the Valtènesi Lake Garda Wine Region
    Generic selectors
    Exact matches only
    Search in title
    Search in content
    Post Type Selectors

    Footer

    Flavor of Italy

    Email: wendy@flavorofitaly.com

    • Home
    • Trips & Travel
    • When in Rome
    • Italian Cooking Classes
    • Privacy Policy

    Enter your email to receive our latest posts direct to your inbox. You can also subscribe to our newsletter for more insights, news and promotions by clicking here.

    © 2005–2025 Flavor of Italy

     

    Loading Comments...
     

      Rate This Recipe

      Your vote:




      A rating is required
      A name is required
      An email is required