Eggplant Parmigiana Lasagna (lasgne alla Parmigiana)

Eggplant parmigiana lasagna (lasagne alla parmigiana).

5 from 5 votes

Eggplant Parmigiana Lasagna (lasgne alla Parmigiana)

This lasagna is a fusion of two classic Italian dishes, lasagne al forno and eggplant parmigiana. It combines layers of egg pasta sheets with fried eggplant slices, a homemade tomato sauce, fresh basil, mozzarella and béchamel. A fabulous vegetable lasagna full of Meditarranean summer flavors that's perfect for meatless meals or as a starter for holiday meals.

Prep Time10

Cook Time1 20

Total Time1 30

Course: Dinner, lunch, Main Course, starter

Cuisine: Italian, Mediterranean, Southern Italian

Keyword: eggplant, lasagna, lasagne al forno, parmigiana

Servings:

Calories: 769kcal

Author: Jacqui

Equipment

1 large skillet to fry eggplant and cook tomato sauce
1 rectangular ceramic or pyrex oven dish

Ingredients

10.5 ounces lasagne pasta sheets fresh, dried or homemade.
3 large eggplants washed and sliced
1.5 pints tomato passata
3 garlic cloves peeled
10 ounces fresh mozzarella drained and sliced
5.3 ounces Parmigiano or Grana cheese grated. You may need more
1 pint béchamel (white sauce) homemade or store bought.

For homemade bèchamel

2.5 ounces butter unsalted
2.5 ounces all-purpose flour or Italian '00' flour
17 fluid ounces fresh whole milk
1 pinch nutmeg freshly grated

Other ingredients

fresh basil leaves
salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper. to taste
vegetable oil to fry eggplant as required
3 tablespoons olive oil

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preparation

Wash and slice the eggplants, peel the garlic and drain the mozzarella and cut it into half or quarter slices.
Heat some oil in a deep frying pan or large skillet and fry the eggplant slices until golden brown on both sides. Remove the eggplant from the hot oil and place in a bowl lined with kitchen paper towels to drain the excess oil.
If you used olive oil for the eggplant and there's still a lot in the skillet, pour some out leaving just enough to make the tomato sauce. If you used vegetable oil, remove it from the pan. Clean with some kitchen paper and add some olive oil.
Heat the olive oil and add the garlic cloves. Sauté until they start to soften then add the passata. Simmer over a medium heat for about 20 minutes or until the passata has reduced and thickened slightly. Add salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Set aside to cool.

Make the béchamel (if necessary)

Put the butter in a pan over a low heat, melt it, add the flour and mix until it forms a thick paste (roux). Then, remove it from the heat. At this point, slowly add the milk and stir continuously to dissolve the roux without making lumps. Put the pan on a low-moderate heat and keep stirring constantly until it starts to simmer and thicken.
Lower the heat, add a pinch of salt, pepper and nutmeg, mix it again for a minute and then allow it to cool to thicken it further.

Assemble your eggplant parmigiana lasagna

Spread a thin layer of tomato sauce over the bottom of a rectangular baking dish or lasagna pan. Place a single layer of lasagne sheets on top.
Cover the lasagna sheets with some tomato sauce, then a layer of eggplant slices and add some pieces of mozzarella and basil leaves. Sprinkle some grated cheese on top and pour 2 tablespoons of béchamel over everything.
Place another layer of lasagne sheets, cover with a thin layer of tomato sauce, then eggplant slices, mozzarella pieces, basil leaves, grated cheese and béchamel as above. Repeat once or twice more, depending on the depth of your dish.
Finish with a layer of pasta sheets covered with béchamel and grated cheese.

Bake and serve

Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180°c (356°F) until the top is a golden brown and slightly crispy. You may need to turn the lasagna in the oven for even cooking. Let your eggplant parmigiana lasagna sit for at least 5 minutes before cutting and serving.

Notes

Cook's tips

You can also make the tomato sauce and fry the eggplant a day in advance. Keep them in the fridge and assemble the lasagna the next day.

You can use ready-made béchamel to speed up preparation times. But, you may need to make it more liquid by adding some milk or broth. Store-bought white sauce tends to be rather thick.

Neither Italian Parmigiano nor Grana are vegetarian as they contain animal rennet. Use a vegetarian parmesan cheese to make this recipe a 100% vegetarian lasagna.

If using dried lasagne sheets, you will need to blanch the dry pasta sheets in boiling salted water before assembling your eggplant parmigiana lasagna. Fresh pasta doesn't need pre-cooking.

I don’t like to use ready shredded mozzarella as this has an anti-caking agent to stop it clumping and it doesn’t melt as well as fresh whole mozzarella. But you can also use a low-moisture pizza mozzarella instead.

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