A Taste of Princess®

This is from Princess Cruise Lines. When I enjoyed this on board, it was sheer “comfort food.”

When you travel with Princess you savor freshly prepared meals from around the world. Now you can bring some of the delicious cuisine you loved onboard back to your home. A classic dish from Southern Italy, Eggplant Parmesan (parmigiana di melanzane in Italian) is a popular, traditional meal that is sure to delight everyone at your table. Buon Appetito!
Eggplat Parmigiana

Tomato Sauce:
¼ cup olive oil
4 lb Roma tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
8 garlic cloves, chopped
2 cups onions, diced small
2 tsp sugar
¼ cup fresh basil, chopped
¼ cup fresh oregano, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp cold butter

Eggplant Parmigiana:
6 med eggplants
1 cup mozzarella, shredded
¾ cup Parmesan, shredded
olive oil for sautéing
2 garlic cloves
salt and pepper
Fresh basil leaves for garnish

 Eggplant Parmigiana
Heat the olive oil gently in a heavy stock pot. Sauté the onions and garlic until translucent. Increase the heat, add the chopped tomatoes and sugar. If the tomatoes are very sweet, omit the sugar from the recipe. Stir the tomatoes often to allow for evaporation and prevent burning, approx. 10 min. Add the fresh herbs and season with salt and pepper. Cook 3 more minutes, stir in the cold butter. Set aside.

Cut the eggplant lengthwise into ¼-inch-thick slices keeping them connected at the stem end. Salt the sliced eggplants generously and set aside for 15 minutes to draw out moisture. Rinse the salt off and pat the eggplant dry with a paper towel.

Heat the oil in a sauté pan and add the garlic cloves to flavor the oil and sauté the eggplant until tender and nicely browned on each side. Form the eggplant into fans as they are cooking.

Preheat the broiler. Fan out the cooked eggplant on a baking tray. Season with salt and pepper and top with the mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Place under the broiler to melt and brown the cheese. Meanwhile, re-heat the tomato sauce if necessary. Serve the Eggplant Parmesan on a bed of the tomato sauce and garnish with basil leaves.

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