Kat Vel’s Eggplant Parm is a Game-Changer for Dinner Parties

When it comes to cooking for a crowd, an eggplant parmigiana always hits the spot. Rich, tasty and delightfully simple to put together, this comfort-food favourite will have your guests feeling at home and hungry for a second slice. Below, Kat Vel – the Queen of Italian Cuisine – shares her recipe for this home-cooking classic.

Kat’s eggplant parm recipe is a masterclass in the ‘less-is-more’ philosophy that makes Sicilian food so homely and heartwarming. Made with just a handful of fresh veggies, creamy ricotta and fragrant basil, this dish is bursting with flavour, tantalising in texture and is perfect when cooking for a group.

Read on for an expert take on this vegetarian Italian delight that will leave your dinner guests coming back for more.

Method

1. Take your eggplants and slice them lengthways into 1.5cm thick slices. Salt both sides of the eggplant evenly and let them rest for 30 minutes to release the bitter liquid from the eggplant. Pat the eggplant slices dry.
2. Next, add a generous amount of olive oil to a frying pan and shallow fry your eggplants until golden brown on each side (approx 3 - 4 minutes on each side). If you’d prefer to bake your eggplants, simply drizzle some olive oil on either side of the eggplants and place in a preheated oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes until golden.
3. In a frying pan, add 3 tablespoons of olive oil and add in the garlic cloves once the oil is hot. Add your cherry tomatoes to medium heat, and let them cook until they’re blistered and can be pushed down with the back of a wooden spoon (approximately 5 minutes).
4. Next, add your passata to the frying pan with the tomatoes, and cook the passata until it reduces and forms a thick sauce with the tomatoes (approximately 8-10 minutes over medium-low heat). Stir in some fresh basil at the last minute to perfume the sauce. Remove the whole garlic cloves.
5. Now time to assemble your eggplants! Take your first eggplant slice and add a layer of the tomato sauce. Add some fresh ricotta and sprinkle some fresh parmigiana over the sauce. Repeat this step with the remaining eggplant slices and sauce until your eggplants are nicely stacked and resemble their initial form.
6. Serve with a fresh green side salad and plenty of fresh vegetables and enjoy with your friends and those who you love most!