Rustic, flavoursome home cooked goodness. 

In December last year, I blogged about Karen Martini’s Eggplant Parmigiana, from her cookbook, The Karen Martini Collection. It was such a hit with my family, especially with my daughters, that I have made it several times over. Each time I have added and omitted various ingredients, often to make use of what I had in my fridge. 

The result is my version of this classic vegetarian dish. Essentially, I have removed the anchovies and dried oregano, substituted the sharp tasting fontina cheese for Greek feta (although Bulgarian feta would also work just as well) and added a cup of fresh herbs consisting of basil and oregano. This can be served with a crisp green salad as a complete meal, which by the way is ideal for those who do not eat meat. It can also accompany a simply barbecued or grilled piece of fish or juicy steak. 

My Version of Eggplant Parmigiana to serve 5 – 6 people

Crumbed eggplant waiting to be layered up with the other ingredients. 


Step 1) 
2 large eggplants cut into 5 mm rounds (I don’t bother to peel them any more)
3/4 cup plain flour
2-3 eggs beaten and seasoned with salt and pepper
2 cups dried breadcrumbs
4 – 5 tablespoons olive oil

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees fan forced. Dust the eggplant pieces first in the flour, then dip into the egg mixture and finally the breadcrumbs. Fry in batches the heated olive oil for 1 minute on each side. Remove and drain on paper towels (as pictured). 

Step 2)
200 g mascapone, softened at room temperature
1 litre tomato passata
1 cup grated parmesan
200 grams feta, broken off into pieces and crumbled
1 cup combined fresh basil and oregano leaves

One more layer to go…


Spread a thin layer of passata onto the bottom of your baking dish. Sprinkle with some of the parmesan. Top with a layer of the prepared eggplant. Dollop over the mascapone. Sprinkle across the fresh herbs and feta. Repeat this layering process once more, finishing with enough parmesan to roughly cover the top layer so that is melts beautifully in the oven. 

Cover with baking paper and then aluminium foil and bake for 25 minutes. The baking paper prevents the cheese sticking to the covering. Remove the foil and bake for another 10 – 15 minutes until the top is golden and bubbling and glorious.