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Sweet Tea's Eggplant Parmigiana

This is not "traditional" but, this is how we eat it in my family!
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Servings 4

Ingredients
  

  • 2 large eggplants sliced about 1/4" thick
  • 2 tablespoons cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • Gops seasoning
  • 1 shallot finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic pressed or minced
  • ¼ cup tomato paste
  • 28 ounces crushed tomatoes
  • ¼ cup roughly chopped fresh basil plus additional basil for garnish
  • 2 tablespoons Sicilian Spice
  • Pinch of red pepper flakes
  • about 1 1/2 cups fresh mozzarella
  • 1-2 cups fresh grated parmigiana
  • 2-3 cooked Italian sausages cooked and thinly sliced or 1/4 pound mortadella, sliced thin

Instructions
 

Grill the eggplant:

  • Season both sides of the eggplant slices with gops and place either on a grill, or a griddle. Cook until golden and tender, flipping them so they do not burn.
  • Pre-heat the oven to 375F.

Make the tomato sauce:

  • In a medium saucepan over medium heat, heat up 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add the shallot and a pinch of gops. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is very tender then add the garlic and red pepper flakes and sauté until fragrant.
  • Add the tomato paste and cook for about 1 minute, stirring constantly.
  • Add the crushed tomatoes, sicilian spice and bring the mixture to a simmer.
  • Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the sauce has thickened about 15 minutes.
  • Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the chopped basil, taste and adjust seasonings.

Assembly:

  • Spread about 1 big ladle of the sauce in the bottom of a casserole pan.
  • Arrange the eggplant slices over the sauce, overlapping slightly.
  • Spoon more sauce over the eggplant and sprinkle generously with Parmigiana cheese.
  • Arrange another layer of eggplant slices evenly on top.
  • Add the cut up sausages or mortadella and place the sliced up mozzarella over the sausages.
  • Spread sauce on top and sprinkle with parmigiana.
  • Layer the remaining eggplant slices on top and top with the remaining sauce.
  • Generously and evenly sprinkle the Parmesan on top.
  • Bake uncovered, until the sauce bubbles and the top is golden, about 25 to 35 minutes.
  • Let it cool for at least 15 minutes to give it time to set.
  • Cut with a knife, plate and enjoy!

Notes

You can make this with sausages or Mortadella, I prefer mortadella, but if you have left over grilled sausages you can use those as well.
Homemade Sicilian Spice: https://sweetteaitalia.com/2020/04/sicilian-spice.html
Gops Seasoning: https://sweetteaitalia.com/2020/04/house-seasoning-gops.html