This is my ultimate lo-carb, cheat dish. Just eggplants, tomatoes and copious amounts of cheese and you get a dish so decadent, you forget it’s a lo-carb dish after all. If you’re really particular, just omit the breadcrumbs to make it even more lo-carb!
Try not to omit the wine though, it really adds a depth of flavour to the sauce. In fact, I didn’t have any dried oregano on hand and I skipped that and the dish still tasted fantastic!
Ingredients for Eggplant Parmigiana:
Serves 2 or 4 (main or side dish)
- 2 big eggplants
- Salt
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 400g good tinned tomatoes
- 75ml red wine
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano (optional)
- Olive oil, to fry eggplants
- 1 cup mozzarella, shredded
- 1 cup parmesan, grated
- 3 Tbsp breadcrumbs
- Handful of basil leaves
Method for Eggplant Parmigiana:
- 30 minutes before you plan to cook, prepare the eggplants by slicing them, sprinkling them with salt and leaving them in a colander to drain. This helps with extracting the liquid in the eggplant.
- Preheat oven to 180°C.
- In a medium pan, heat oil, and saute the garlic for about a minute.
- Add tomatoes and wine. Bring the heat up to a boil, keep stirring and mashing up the tomatoes, then reduce to a simmer. Add in some salt, dried oregano (if using) and simmer for 45, stirring occasionally.
- Rinse the eggplant slices well, and dry thoroughly with kitchen paper.
- Pour enough oil into a frying pan to coat the bottom, and put on a high heat. Fry the eggplant slices until golden brown on both sides, working in batches. Put the cooked slices on paper towels to absorb excess oil.
- Keep aside a tablespoon of parmesan for sprinkling on top of dish. Using a baking dish, spread a thin layer of tomato sauce, followed by a layer of eggplants (packing them tightly), mozzarella and parmesan. Add another layer of eggplants, followed by tomato sauce and the cheeses. Repeat this order until you have used up all the eggplants, finishing with a layer of sauce.
- Sprinkle breadcrumbs and remaining parmesan on top. Bake for about 30 minutes, until bubbling and browned, then allow to cool slightly and sprinkle with torn basil before serving.
Pour yourself a red and enjoy!
