Skillet eggplant parmesan (no fry)

I had never tried a skillet eggplant parmesan. I do not fry (only rarely), but I do use so much my oven. Then some weeks ago I saw someone online showing a typical oven recipe prepared in a pan and it remained in my mind.

About a month ago I had some eggplants and then I decided to make an experience… that worked perfectly and I have to say that it is one of the best eggplants I have ever cooked.

I repeated this skillet eggplant parmesan recipe more than once – to check if it was not just good luck 😉 – and it pleased also my family very much.

Ingredients (2/3 people):

• 4 medium black eggplants
• 2 cans tomato
• 1 tsp dried garlic 
• 1 tsp dried onion 
• salt
• about 1.8oz grated Parmesan cheese
• about 3 Tbsp breadcrumbs
• extra virgin olive oil
• 2 mozzarella (3.5oz each)

Instructions:

1. Turn on the oven 200°C/392°F.
2. Wash the eggplants and cut them in slices of about 1/3 in each.
3. Cover two large oven pans with parchment paper and place the eggplant slices without overlapping them.
4. Spread breadcrumbs and part of the grated cheese over the eggplants (little, as you do with salt), salt them and add a thread of oil.
5. Put into the oven for 20/30 minutes – or until they are cooked and golden.
6. While cooking the eggplants, prepare the tomato sauce putting the tomato inside a pan and adding salt, garlic and onion. Cook on low gas for 30 min. (I do not add oil, but you can if you desire).
7. Cut mozzarella in very thin slices.
8. Take a large pan that can accomodate the eggplant stacks.
9. Put little tomato sauce into the pan and distribute it to cover the bottom.
10. Place eggplant slices one close to other until covering the bottom.
11. Using a spoon add little sauce over each slice and distribute it with the spoon to cover the whole slice.
12. Add a slice of mozzarella and sprinkle some grated Parmesan. Then another slice of eggplant and repeat the process until you finish the ingredients.
13. Finish with a generous sprinkle of grated cheese and a thread of extra virgin olive oil.
14. 
15.  Put the lid and turn on the gas on low. As soon as it begins to boil, lower the gas to the minimum of the minimum and let it cook for 30 minutes, checking every 10 minutes to see if isn’t attaching to the bottom.
16. If you follow my advice and used little sauce, it should come perfectly. If you used a little more of sauce and has some liquids just leave the pan without the lid for a while to evaporate the extra liquids.
17. Serve hot or warm.
18. Buon appetito! 

notes:

1. I use dried onion and garlic to make it easier, but you can use fresh ones too.
2. I don’t add oil to the tomato sauce to save on fats, but you can add it if you wish.
3. Follow my advice to put little sauce over each slice – even if it seems to be too little, at the end it will be perfect, with ingredients melting one with another and making eggplants quite creamy.