Eggplant Al Forno
⏳ Time
1 hour 45 minutes + 5 hours
🥕 Ingredients
11
🍽️ Servings
4
Description
This eggplant casserole resembles a lasagna without the pasta — thin slices of eggplant take its place, layered with cheese and tomato sauce. The trick is to properly roast the eggplants so that they are tender inside, absorbing just a bit of oil and the juiciness of the cheese. Chef John Smith suggests serving the bubbling casserole on a bed of cold creamy stracciatella. It's impossible to lose weight with this casserole, difficult to eat more than one piece, but refusing it is unthinkable. Recipe by Chef John Smith from a local restaurant.
Ingredients
- Eggplants - 2½ kg
- Wheat Flour - 7.1 oz
- Vegetable Oil - to taste
- Baking Tomatoes - 1½ kg
- Shallot - 3.5 oz
- Garlic - 0.7 oz
- Basil - 1.1 oz
- Ground Black Pepper - 0.1 oz
- Melted Cheese - 7.1 oz
- Parmesan Cheese - 3.5 oz
- Salt - 0.3 oz
Step by Step guide
Step 1
Finely chop the shallots and garlic, then sauté them in olive oil until golden brown.
Step 2
Add the tomatoes along with their juice, salt, and pepper. Place over medium heat and simmer until reduced by about one third. At the end, stir in the chopped fresh basil (reserve a few leaves for garnish).
Step 3
Peel the eggplants and slice them into thin strips (about 1.5 cm thick).
Step 4
Salt the eggplants well and let them sit for about five hours. It is important that they lose not bitterness, but excess water.
Step 5
Coat the eggplants in flour and fry them in hot oil until golden brown.
Step 6
In a 20x20 cm (about 8x8 inches) ceramic or glass baking dish, layer 225 grams of sauce, 400 grams of sautéed eggplant, 100 grams of mozzarella slices, 30 grams of grated Parmesan, and 5 grams of chopped basil. Repeat the layers in the same order.
Step 7
As the final layer, place 400 grams of sautéed eggplant in the dish, followed by 225 grams of sauce and 40 grams of Parmesan cheese.
Step 8
Bake in an oven preheated to 320°F for one hour. Serve with stracciatella cheese, garnished with basil.
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