My Famous Melanzane Alla Parmigiana Recipe

Today I'll share my beloved Melanzane recipe, that will make any guest happy. I made it for the first time 3 years ago, together with one of my friends. We made it for our parents to prove them that we were great cooks and able to live on our own (in Antwerp). They all loved it and begged me to make it again ever since. I make it at least 3 to 4 times during spring and summer. It is that one dish that takes up quite some time but makes your heart happy every time you eat it.

So what do we need:

- 4 big eggplants

- 400 grams of Mozzarella (or more if you like it extra cheesy)

- Olive oil

- Fresh Basil

- 800 grams of tomato sauce

- Fresh Parmezan cheese

- peper and salt

How to make it:

1. Pre-heat the oven at 200 degrees celsius

2. Cut the eggplants in slices of about 1cm (smaller is preferred) and do the same with the mozzarella.

3. Put the eggplant slices on a plate and sprinkle them with olive oil and season with peper and salt.

3. Once the oil is absorbed by the eggplant, grill them on both sides till you see the grill marks.

4. Layer them in a greased baking dish. Layer the mozzarella on top of it and some basil leaves too.

5. Cover in tomato sauce

6. Repeat this process until the baking dish is filled and end off with some grated parmesan on top.

7. Bake the dish in the oven for about 15 to 20 minutes till the sauce starts to simmer and the parmesan has a golden look.

2

It's an easy recipe but a bit time consuming to grill all the slices of the eggplants. During summer I like to use the BBQ to fasten up the process. I grill the eggplant on the grill plate and I but the finished dish on the BBQ as well with the lid closed.

You can eat the Melanzane on its own or with some ciabatta on the side.

I hope you'll like this recipe and I would love to see your results, so don't forget to tag me in your pictures @lapetitebelgefoodblog or with the #lapetitebelgefoodblog.

A bientôt!

Bisous