Grandma's Italian Eggplant Parmigiana recipe

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Ingredients

2 medium Italian eggplants, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch slices
2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
3 tablespoons sea salt, or to taste
1 tablespoon ground black pepper, or to taste
5 eggs, room temperature
3 tablespoons water, room temperature
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil, or as needed
2 cups freshly grated Pecorino-Romano cheese, divided
40 ounces Italian-style tomato sauce
2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese
30 ounces freshly grated mozzarella cheese

Nutrition Info

568.9 calories
carbohydrate: 33.1 g
cholesterol: 145.9 mg
fat: 32.7 g
fiber: 5.3 g
protein: 35.6 g
saturatedFat: 14.8 g
servingSize: -
sodium: 2463.2 mg
sugar: 7.9 g
transFat: : -
unsaturatedFat: : -

Directions

  1. Lay eggplant slices on top of paper towels and sprinkle with sea salt to draw out moisture. Cover with additional paper towels. Let sit, 8 hours to overnight.

  2. Place flour into a 1-gallon plastic zip-top bag. Sprinkle salt and pepper into the flour and shake the bag to mix. Place 6 eggplant slices into the bag, seal, and shake to coat.

  3. Beat eggs and water together using a fork in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper.

  4. Heat 2 inches of oil over medium-high heat in a 10-inch cast iron skillet. Line baking sheets with paper towels to drain eggplants after frying.

  5. Shake excess flour from eggplant slices and place into egg mixture, turning to ensure both sides are coated. Allow excess egg mixture to drip off before placing slices into the hot oil. Fry until slightly golden, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer to the paper towel-lined baking sheets. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon Pecorino Romano cheese. Repeat process until all eggplant slices are fried. Let cool slightly, about 5 minutes.

  6. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

  7. Pour a small amount of tomato sauce into the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking pan to cover. Place 1/3 of the eggplant slices over sauce, slightly overlapping them. Sprinkle 1/3 of the remaining Pecorino-Romano cheese and Parmesan cheese evenly over the slices. Cover with a light layer of sauce. Sprinkle 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese over sauce. Repeat for a total of 3 layers.

  8. Bake in the preheated oven until bubbly, about 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes to set.

Recipe Yield

12 servings

Recipe Note

This heirloom Italian family recipe came stateside with my grandmother when she immigrated from Italy. Growing up in a house that had Italian sauce being made every Sunday, this eggplant was always a favorite. Using good quality ingredients is critical for this recipe. It is very time consuming and laborious. It would be a shame to invest all of this time and effort with inferior ingredients only to be let down when you eat it later.

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