Eggplant parmesan casserole aka the "parmigiana di melanzane"

Parmigiana di melanzane is one of those Italian dishes that sounds more complicated than it is. Layers of eggplant, tomato sauce, mozzarella, and a bit of parmesan, baked until the cheese melts into everything. The parmesan is there as a flavour hit between the layers, not as a main event. It's too strong and too expensive to use generously. A little goes a long way.

The thing that catches most people out is the eggplant prep. Skip the salting step and the whole dish ends up watery. Ten minutes is enough.

Ingredients (serves 2)

• 1 medium eggplant, sliced into rounds about 1cm thick
• 120g fresh mozzarella, sliced
• 30g parmesan, grated
• 1 can (400g) chopped tomatoes
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• A few basil leaves (fresh or dried)
• Olive oil, salt, and pepper
• A few tablespoons of flour (for the eggplant, optional but recommended)

How to make it

Make the sauce first. Heat a splash of olive oil in a small pan, add the garlic and let it cook gently for a minute. Add the chopped tomatoes and about half a can of water. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and let it simmer for 30 minutes to thicken. Season with salt, pepper, and basil. Set aside.

Salt the eggplant. Slice the eggplant and lay the slices out on a board or plate. Salt both sides generously and leave them for 10 minutes. You'll see moisture bead on the surface. Pat them dry with paper towel.

Cook the eggplant. The quickest and most satisfying method: dust each slice in seasoned flour (salt and pepper in the flour, not just on the slice) and fry in a hot pan with olive oil for 2-3 minutes per side until golden. Drain on paper towel. If you want to keep it lighter, brush the slices with oil and grill or bake them at 200°C for about 15 minutes instead.

Assemble and bake. Preheat the oven to 180°C. In a small casserole dish, start with a layer of tomato sauce, then eggplant, then a sprinkle of parmesan, then a few slices of mozzarella. Repeat until you run out. The last layer should be sauce and parmesan on top, with mozzarella underneath so it doesn't go rubbery.

Bake for 20 minutes until the cheese has melted and the top is golden. Let it sit for 5 minutes before serving.

Worth knowing

On the eggplant prep: The salting step pulls out both excess moisture and some of the bitterness. Modern eggplants are less bitter than they used to be, but the moisture extraction is still worth doing. A watery parmigiana is a sad parmigiana.

On the flour: Dusting the eggplant slices in seasoned flour before frying gives you a thin crust that holds up better in the layers and absorbs the sauce without going soggy. Full breadcrumb coating works too but makes the whole thing denser than it needs to be.

On the parmesan: A little. Really. It's there to add a sharp, salty note between the layers. If you go too heavy, it overpowers everything else. 30g across the whole dish is plenty.

On the dish size: Use a small-to-medium casserole dish so the layers stack up properly. A wide, shallow dish spreads everything out too thin and you lose the whole point of it being a layered casserole.