Sufra Dayma:

Eggplant parmegiano

By Moushira Abdel-Malek

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Ingredients:

1 1/2 kg eggplant (thickly sliced)

1 1/2 cups tomato sauce

200 gms grated parmesan

All purpose flour (for coating)

Medium coarse salt (to sprinkle over eggplant)

Tomato sauce:

1 1/2 cups tomato juice

1 tbsp tomato paste

1 tsp crushed garlic

1 tbsp oil (extra)

Black pepper + dry basil

Gently fry garlic in extra oil until yellowish. Add tomato juice and paste. Stir to combine and season. Simmer over low heat, covered, until sauce is cooked and slightly thickens. Add some water if needed.

Method:

Sprinkle salt over eggplant slices. Leave over strainer for one hour. Gently squeeze slices to ooze out any extra juices. Coat with flour on both sides. Fry in hot oil to golden on both sides. Drain on paper towels. In an oven-proof dish, place one layer of fried eggplant, then add a quantity of sauce to cover slices. Sprinkle grated parmesan. Repeat layers in same order ending up with parmesan on top. Sauce should be enough to be almost at the same level of contents. Bake in a preheated medium oven until top is goldened. Serve with a green salad and crusty bread.