No Breadcrumb Eggplant Parmigiana

5 from 15 votes

Simple Sicilian style eggplant recipe with a garlicky sauce, mozzarella cheese, basil, and fried eggplant pieces.

Prep Time1 30

Cook Time3 45

Total Time2 15

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Servings:

Cut eggplant into 1/4"disks, layout on a baking tray, and salt aggressively.
After 90 minutes discard eggplant water. Wash off the remaining salt or remove with wet paper towels from the eggplant. Dry eggplant well after removing salt.
Fry eggplant in olive oil over medium heat (about 1/4" deep) until crisp on both sides. About 3-5 minutes per side. Alternatively - oil eggplants and roast in a parchment paper-lined baking tray at 400f for 30 minutes or until lightly browned.
Blot eggplants of excess oil with paper towels and begin assembling parmigiana.
Place a thick layer of marinara sauce in the bottom of a large baking dish. Add 1 layer of eggplant, more sauce, torn basil leaves, shredded mozzarella, and grated Parmigiano Reggiano. Repeat in layers to the top of the baking dish.
Place remaining mozzarella on top and bake at 325f for 50-60 minutes. If desired broil for 2 minutes right at the end. Alternatively, bake without mozzarella on top at 400f for 30 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let the eggplant parm rest for 20-30 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Make sure to remove all of the salt before frying. The salt removes excess water from the eggplant.
After frying be sure to let drain on a wire rack or paper towels. In addition, make sure to blot all excess oil off the eggplant before assembling the parmigiana.
Let the eggplant parmigiana rest for at least 20-30 minutes before serving. The sauce and excess oil will absorb into the eggplant and prevent the dish from becoming too runny.