Aubergines à la parmigiana

03 — Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 °C (350 °F) fan. Wash the eggplants and slice them lengthwise 8 mm (⅓ in) thick. Salt them generously in a colander and let drain for 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, thinly slice the yellow onion. Remove the germ from the 3 garlic cloves and crush them. Chop half the basil, keeping the rest of the leaves whole for serving.
3. Make the tomato sauce: heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in the large sauté pan over medium heat. Soften the onion for 5 minutes, then add the garlic and cook 1 minute, stirring.
4. Add the peeled tomatoes, crushed with a fork, along with the sugar, dried oregano, salt and pepper. Simmer over low heat for 20 minutes until thick.
5. Rinse the eggplant slices in cold water to remove the salt and pat them completely dry so they don’t soak up too much oil.
6. Heat 4 tbsp of olive oil in the large skillet over medium-high heat. Fry the eggplant in batches for 3 minutes per side until golden, draining each batch on paper towels.
7. Build the parmigiana in the gratin dish: a ladle of sauce, a layer of eggplant, sauce, torn mozzarella, chopped basil and Parmesan. Repeat 3 times, finishing with plenty of sauce and Parmesan.
8. Drizzle the top with the remaining 2 tbsp of extra-virgin olive oil. Bake for 35 minutes at 180 °C (350 °F) until golden and bubbling at the edges. Let rest for 15 minutes before serving so it holds together.