Savory Starters and appetizers Sides Italian

Neapolitan Eggplant

Name: Neapolitan Eggplant
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: For 6 servings
Cuisine: italiana
Ingredients: 1 kg eggplants; salt (to taste); 2 unit cans of whole tomatoes; 3 clove crushed garlic cloves; 1 unit bay leaf; 2 unit vegetable stock cubes; 0.333 cup white wine; pepper (to taste); 300 g mozzarella; oil (for frying); flour (for coating); 0.5 cup grated cheese

A sure-fire formula: floured and fried eggplant slices, layered and baked with tomato sauce, mozzarella and grated cheese. Perfect as a starter, side or main course.

Total time: 35 min
Servings: 6
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

How many servings?

Type a number or fraction (for example 0.5, 2 or 1/2) and the amounts recalculate.

1 kgeggplants
saltto taste
2cans of whole tomatoes
3 clovescrushed garlic cloves
1bay leaf
2vegetable stock cubes
1/3 cupwhite wine
pepperto taste
300 gmozzarella
oilfor frying
flourfor coating
1/2 cupgrated cheese

Instructions

Wash the eggplants well and, without peeling them, cut them into thin slices. Place them in a dish, sprinkle with salt, set a weight on top and, while they release their liquid, make the sauce.
Put the chopped tomatoes with all their juice, the crushed garlic, the bay leaf, the crumbled stock cubes and the white wine into a pot. Add pepper to taste if you like.
Stir with a wooden spoon and let simmer over low heat for about 15 minutes, uncovered, until the sauce thickens.
While the sauce cooks, cut the mozzarella into thin slices and set them aside.
Drain the eggplants and discard the liquid they released. Pat them dry. Heat plenty of oil in a pan, coat each slice in flour and fry until golden on both sides.
As they brown, drain them on plenty of paper towels.
Assemble in a baking dish, placing a layer of eggplant and on top a layer of mozzarella slices.
Follow with a layer of tomato sauce. Repeat, alternating the ingredients, finishing with tomato sauce.
Sprinkle the top with the grated cheese and bake in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes.

Notes and variations

It is best to leave the eggplants sprinkled with salt for a while so they release excess liquid and absorb less oil while frying.
If you like, you can make this recipe with potatoes. Keep in mind that, because of their carbohydrate content, they brown quickly and can burn: fry them al dente and without flouring them.
For a lighter dish, try making this recipe with zucchini. The tomato sauce brings out the sweet flavor of the zucchini and the mild taste of the mozzarella.

Savory

Cauliflower Fritters

Another way to eat your vegetables: blanched cauliflower florets dipped in a beer batter, fried until golden and served with tomato and herbs. The batter works for any pre-blanched vegetable.