This is a very warm and comforting Italian dish that is rich in flavor and oozing with luscious melting cheese. Your kitchen will smell beautiful when the ingredients begin releasing their aromatic scents whilst the dish bakes in the oven!
No lasagna sheets here! We’re using delicious slices of eggplants instead.
Makes 4 servings
INGREDIENTS
2 large eggplants; each sliced into 8 slices (total 16 slices)
Olive oil
1 cup tomato sauce, store bought
1 ½ cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon coriander leaves for garnish
Salt and pepper
DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 175C.
Heat a saucepan on high heat and drizzle a good amount of olive oil on it.
When the oil becomes hot but not sizzling, begin cooking the eggplant slices in batches until softened while adding more olive oil if necessary between each batch.
Cook them on each side until slightly golden.
Remove the slices and place them on tissue paper to absorb the excess oil.
Bring a medium sized baking dish and begin assembling the layers.
To begin with, pour about 4 tablespoons of tomato sauce on the bottom of the dish.
Lay 4 slices of eggplant on top of the tomato sauce.
Sprinkle a thin layer of mozzarella cheese on top of the eggplants and follow with more tomato sauce.
Follow with another 4 slices of eggplant, a layer of cheese and tomato sauce.
Repeat the steps until you’ve used all the slices of eggplant.
Finish off the dish with a final layer of tomato sauce, mozzarella, and a good grating of Parmesan cheese.
Sprinkle the top with some coriander and a dusting of salt and pepper.
Place the dish in the oven for 15 minutes or until the cheese is well melted and bubbling.
Remove from the oven and serve while it’s hot.
Text and photography by Shaikha Al Ali
