Best Sicilian Eggplant Parmagiana With Spinach Recipes

SICILIAN EGGPLANT PARMIGIANA WITH HOMEMADE MARINARA SAUCE

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in heavy pan (like cast iron) and saute onions until tender, about 4 minutes.
• Add garlic and continue to cook for another 1-2 minutes, making sure to not burn.
• Add a little of the puree from the canned tomatoes and let sizzle for a couple minutes to help all the flavors from the pan start to come together.
• Add the remaining puree and tomatoes, then the salt, pepper, oregano, basil and parsley, and let cook for about 10 minutes, turning the whole tomatoes at least once.
• With a fork or masher, gently crush the tomatoes until there are no more big chunks remaining. Taste and add additional seasoning, if needed, and continue to cook for another 10 minutes. Set aside.
• Heat oven to 375° F.
• With sharp knife, cut the top and bottom of both eggplants. Then slice in half, vertically. Holding one half of the eggplant upright, - carefully cut thin vertical slices, about 1/4 inch thick.
• Salt both sides of the eggplant slices and lay flat on a cookie sheet lined with paper towels. Cover with another layer of paper towels and then lay something heavy on top (like a rectangular casserole dish) and let sit for one hour. This helps to extract some of the water.Note: This step can be skipped, but I do find it removes some of the bitter taste and helps the eggplant to absorb less oil when frying.
• For breaded slices, dip both sides of eggplant slices in flour, then dip in egg mixture, and then fully coat in bread crumbs. Brown each side and place on paper towel. Repeat steps until remaining slices are cooked. For the non-breaded version:Heat fry pan to medium; add olive oil to cover the bottom. Once hot, carefully add a few eggplant slices at a time (don't overlap) and fry until medium-golden brown (just a couple minutes). Turn over and do the same on the other side. Remove the eggplant and lay flat on a paper towel. Repeat until one of the eggplants (or half of the eggplant slices) is fried. Note: The slices cook fast, and they absorb a lot of olive oil. This is to be expected.
• In 9 1/2-inch baking dish, add marinara sauce to lightly cover the bottom. Add a layer of eggplant, and then sprinkle with grated Pecorino. Add a layer of mozzarella cheese, dollop sauce over the cheese and repeat this layering a few times.
• After the third layer add sliced hard-boiled eggs. This step is optional, but I highly recommend it. Continue with alternating layers of eggplant, sauce, cheese, finishing with sauce, cheese and a parsley garnish.
• Bake in oven at 375° for about 35 minutes until the top layer of cheese is golden brown and the top is bubbling. Let rest about 10 minutes before serving.

MELANZANA ALLA PARMIGIANA (PERFECT EGGPLANT PARMIGIANA)

Steps:

• Heat about 1 inch extra-virgin olive oil in a deep skillet over medium heat. Pat eggplant slices dry with a paper towel and fry eggplant in batches in the hot oil until golden, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer eggplant to a paper towel-lined plate using a slotted spoon; season with salt.
• Combine tomato puree (passata), 1 tablespoon olive oil, garlic, salt, and 4 basil leaves in a saucepan; simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes. Remove garlic from sauce.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking dish.
• Place a layer of fried eggplant in the baking dish and cover with a layer of tomato sauce. Top with a layer of mozzarella cheese, oregano, Parmesan cheese, and chopped basil leaves, in that order. Continue layering in the same order with remaining ingredients, ending with a layer of mozzarella cheese and a drizzle of olive oil.
• Bake in the preheated oven until heated through and cheeses are melted, about 40 minutes. Let stand a few minutes before slicing.

SICILIAN EGGPLANT PARMAGIANA WITH SPINACH

Steps:

• Salt eggplants all over with 1 tablespoon kosher salt. Layer in a large colander set in the sink. Lay a plate over the eggplant and weight the top with cans to help press out excess liquid. Let drain about ½ hour, then rinse and pat dry.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a large shallow bowl, toss together the breadcrumbs, 2 cups of the grated cheese and 1 cup of the olive oil. Season with ½ teaspoon salt. In another shallow bowl, beat the eggs and milk with a pinch of salt. Spread the flour on a plate.
• Dredge the eggplant slices in flour, egg, then breadcrumbs, pressing in the crumbs to make sure they adhere. Lay the eggplant slices on parchment lined sheet pans, without touching. Bake eggplant, rotating the sheet pans halfway through baking, until cooked through and crumbs are crisp and golden, about 25 minutes. Let cool slightly.
• Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. Add smashed garlic and sauté until just golden, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add the spinach with any water clinging to the leaves, season with remaining ½ teaspoon salt, cover and cook until wilted, about 3 to 4 minutes. Check occasionally to make sure the bottom of the pan is not dry, adding water a tablespoon at a time if necessary. Once the spinach is wilted, uncover and cook until spinach is tender and excess water is gone, about 4 minutes.
• To assemble the eggplant, spread ¾ cup of the marinara sauce in the bottom of a 10-by-15-inch baking dish. Add half of the baked eggplant, in an even layer. Spread with 1 cup marinara. Sprinkle with ½ cup grated Grana Padano. Sprinkle with half the shredded mozzarella. Spread all of the spinach in one layer. Spread with 2 more cups marinara. Sprinkle with the remaining grated mozzarella and ½ cup grated Grana Padano. Top with an even layer of the remaining eggplant. Spread remaining sauce on top and sprinkle with remaining grated Grana Padano. Tent the baking dish with foil, so it is not touching the cheese and bake until bubbly, about 30 minutes. Uncover and bake until cheese is browned and crusty and sauce is bubbling all over, another 15 minutes. Let cool and set 5 to 10 minutes before cutting and serving.

EGGPLANT AND SQUASH ALLA PARMIGIANA

Steps:

• Trim the stems from the eggplant and squash. Slice the vegetables lengthwise, no more than 1/4-inch thick. Spread the slices on one or more cooling racks, dust with salt on both sides and let sit for 30 minutes.
• Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a 2-quart saucepan. Add the onion and garlic and sauté on low until translucent, about 10 minutes. Increase the heat to medium, add the tomatoes, pepper and bay leaf and cook, breaking up the tomatoes, a few minutes. Reduce heat and simmer the sauce for 20 minutes more. Remove bay leaf and check seasoning.
• Rinse eggplant and squash slices and pat them dry. Dredge lightly with flour. Heat 3 to 4 tablespoons oil in a large skillet. Fry the eggplant and squash until lightly browned, in several shifts, placing fried slices on paper towel to drain.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Brush a 10-inch glass pie plate with oil. Spread a very thin layer of the tomato sauce in the pie plate. Add a layer of the eggplant, cutting slices to fit if necessary. Try to arrange them like spokes of a wheel. Spread a little more sauce over them, then the squash slices, then the mozzarella and another layer of eggplant. Finish with the remaining sauce, the Parmigiano-Reggiano and the parsley.
• Bake about 30 minutes, until bubbling and lightly browned on top. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.

EGGPLANT BAKE WITH RICOTTA AND SPINACH

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
• Place eggplant cutlets on a baking sheet.
• Bake on the center rack of the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Flip, and continue to bake until both sides are golden brown and cutlets are cooked through, 6 to 7 minutes more. Remove from the oven and reduce temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Mix ricotta cheese, spinach, egg, and garlic together in a medium bowl.
• Place 1/2 cup spaghetti sauce in the bottom of an 8-inch square baking dish and layer with 1/2 of the eggplant cutlets, 1/2 of the ricotta mixture, and 1/2 of the remaining sauce. Repeat layers with remaining eggplant, ricotta mixture, and sauce. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over top.
• Bake in the preheated oven until cooked through and bubbling, about 30 minutes.