Eggplant in Tomato Sauce with Parmesan

👨‍🍳 Method

For the Roasted Vegetables

1. 1
   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. 2
   Sprinkle the salt over the vegetables and leave 20 minutes, so it releases liquid, then rinse and dry well.
3. 3
   In a bowl, toss the vegetables with part of the olive oil.

   Bowl
4. 4
   Spread on a baking sheet in a single layer, without crowding.

   Baking pan
5. 5
   Roast the vegetables in a hot oven (200°C / 390°F) 30 minutes, turning once, until the eggplants are tender.

   ⚙ Oven roastingOvenBaking pan

   💡Give it room in the pan: crowded vegetables steam instead of browning.

For the Tomato sauce

1. 6
   Heat the rest of the olive oil in a pan over medium heat.

   ⚙ Pan-fryingStoveFrying pan
2. 7
   Add the onion and fry 5–8 minutes, stirring now and then, until the onion is soft and translucent and starts to turn golden at the edges. If it browns too fast, lower the heat.

   ⚙ 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. 8
   Add the garlic and fry about 30 seconds to 1 minute, just until fragrant. Don't let the garlic brown.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove

   💡Garlic burns quickly and turns bitter. Add it only after the onion has softened, over medium heat, and add the next ingredient as soon as it smells fragrant.
4. 9
   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. 10
   Lay half of the eggplant slices on the bottom of the dish, pour the tomato sauce over them and cover with the rest of the slices.

   Baking pan
2. 11
   Sprinkle the cheese on top.
3. 12
   Bake 25 minutes, until the cheese turns golden.

   ⚙ BakingOvenBaking pan

   💡Check by the cue (until…), not just the clock: every oven bakes a little differently.