Eggplant Parmigiana

👨‍🍳 Method

For the Schnitzel

1. 1
   Spread the flour on a flat plate.

   💡The flour dries the surface, the egg sticks to it and holds whatever comes next. Without the flour, the coating tends to peel off during frying.
2. 2
   Beat the eggs in a wide bowl.

   Bowl

   💡Work with one "dry" hand for the dry coating and one "wet" hand for the egg, so your fingers don't get caked in layers of coating.
3. 3
   Spread the crumbs on another flat plate and season.
4. 4
   Cut the vegetable into slices 1 cm thick.

   KnifeCutting board
5. 5
   Salt the slices, leave 20 minutes and pat dry well.
6. 6
   Pass each piece through the breading stations, in order, and press well so the coating sticks.

   💡A wet vegetable sheds its coating and spatters in the oil. Dry well after cooking or salting, before the flour.
7. 7
   Heat the oil in a wide pan over medium-high heat and fry 3–4 minutes on each side, until the coating is golden and crisp.

   ⚙ Pan-fryingStoveFrying pan

   💡What you brown (meat, patties, schnitzel) goes into hot oil: in lukewarm oil it soaks it up and comes out greasy. For onion and garlic that you soften, oil heated over medium or low heat is enough; do not wait for it to smoke.
8. 8
   Transfer to paper towels.

For the Tomato sauce

1. 9
   In a bowl, mix the tomatoes, olive oil, garlic and oregano with the salt.

   ⚙ Pan-fryingStoveFrying pan
2. 10
   Add and fry 3 minutes, until the peppers soften.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove

   💡Add by cooking time: what needs long (onion, carrot, meat) goes in first, and what burns fast (garlic, dry spices) goes in last, only until fragrant.
3. 11
   Add and stir about a minute, until fragrant.

   ⚙ SimmeringStove

   💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.

To assemble

1. 12
   Preheat the oven to 200°C (390°F).

   ⚙ Preheating the OvenOven

   💡Put things in the oven only once it's reached temperature, after the heating light has gone off: an oven that hasn't reached temperature changes baking times, and the bake burns outside or stays underbaked.
2. 13
   In a baking dish, layer tomato sauce, eggplant and the cheese and Parmesan, and repeat the layers.

   Baking pan
3. 14
   Bake 20 minutes, until the cheese is bubbling.

   ⚙ BakingOvenBaking pan

   💡Check by the cue (until…), not just the clock: every oven bakes a little differently.
4. 15
   Garnish with the basil leaves before serving.