Yield
8–10 servings
Ingredients
- 1 large onion
- 4 lbs. tomato
- 4 lbs. eggplant
- basil, 12 leaves
- 1 ½ cups grated parmesan
- salt & pepper
- 1/3 cup + 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 1/3 cup peanut oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450° F.
- Peel and slice the onion. Fry in 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large saucepot until soft.
- Wash, de-stem, and roughly chop the tomatoes. Dice finely in a food processor. Add to the onions, bring to a boil, and simmer, uncovered, stirring intermittently, for at least an hour.
- Wash the eggplants. Slice into coins ¾ inch thick. Lay out on two cookie sheets; salt lightly; brush with a mix of the olive and peanut oil. Flip, and salt and oil the other side of the coins. Roast for 9 minutes. Swap between upper and lower shelves of the oven, rotate, and roast 9 minutes more. Flip over the eggplant slices, swap shelves again, and roast 10 minutes more.
- Wash and slice basil. Add the basil and 1 tsp salt to the tomato sauce halfway through its cooking.
- Grate 1 ½ cups of parmesan.
- Put a small amount of the tomato sauce on the bottom of a 9″ x 9″ (or 8″ x 10″) casserole dish. Add a layer of fried eggplant slices, a layer of tomato sauce, and a layer of parmesan. Repeat for a total of 3 layers.
- Bake for 20 minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature.
Adapted from Mark Bittman. For a 1-page PDF version, click here.