Moldavian Eggplant Parmesan
Baked eggplant Parmesan with braised Moldavian vegetable sauce!
Servings Prep Time
12servings 1hour
Cook Time Passive Time
1hour 1hour
Servings Prep Time
12servings 1hour
Cook Time Passive Time
1hour 1hour
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Add 8 cloves of garlic to the food processor. Grind for about 10 seconds before adding the flour, dry marjoram and the sea salt to the processor. Turn the processor on for about another 15 seconds. Scrape the side walls few times with rubber spatula to make sure that everything is thoroughly processed. Transfer to a large size mixing bowl, set aside for about an hour.
  2. Peel the egg plants with potato peeler and slice into 1/4″ thick slices. Transfer the sliced egg plant to the mixing bowl and toss gently coating them with flour mixture. Set aside and repeat tossing process every 5 minutes to build satisfactory layer of flour mixture. It will take anywhere between 20 minutes and 1 hour to complete the process. Once the slices start to feel slightly tacky and sticky to the touch, that is the stage we are looking for. We do not want to wait much longer pass this stage since that will result with very heavy coating of flour, and consequently will taste very gummy when cooked, with some raw flour that will cause indigestion. Take the eggplant out of the flour and spread them around the mixing bowl side in one layer.
  3. Preheat a heavy non stick pan over medium heat (6 out of 10) and add olive oil to coat the bottom. Depending on size of the pan, fry in batches of 4-5 slices at the time. It will take 8-9 minutes for each batch to get eggplants cooked nice and golden. Flip slices first time after about 3 minutes. Add more olive oil in the middle of the pan before flipping slices. We need to to keep them moist. Bake for about 3 minutes on another side and then flip once again and cook each side for 1.5 minutes more. Once golden and crisp on both sides, transfer to a clean plate.
  4. Take a paper towel and wipe completely the bottom of the pan clean, removing any residual flour and oil.
  5. Add more olive oil and repeat the process with the following batches until done.
  6. Preheat the oven to 200ºC (400ºF).
  7. Preheat the Moldavian vegetable sauce. Spoon over and coat the bottom of ceramic baking dish with the sauce. Arrange the first layer of fried eggplants on top of the sauce. Add about 1.5 tsp of grated Parmesan cheese on top of each slice. Follow with the additional tsp of sauce on top. Cover with another layer of eggplant slices and repeat the process until 3-4 stack high.
  8. Add 1 tsp of grated Parmesan on the last layer and top up with about 1 tbsp of sauce. Cut and add a small chunk of mozzarella cheese on top of each stack, about 1 tsp. Bake for 20-30 minutes. Serve warm.
Recipe Notes

The key process components to pay attention to while making dish are as follows:

  • Avoid creating a too thick coating on the eggplants. The coating thickness depends on a length of time eggplant is kept in the seasoning.
  • Depending on size of your non stick pan, cook only 3-5 eggplant slices at the time.
  • Use freshly grated Parmesan cheese, there is no substitute.
  • Make vegetable sauce ahead of time.
  • Pre-warm braised vegetable sauce before garnishing eggplant layers.
  • Use the best Mozzarella cheese you can find.