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Chef Tom Colicchio’s Eggplant Parm
Ingredients:
- Three 28-ounce cans whole tomatoes, undrained
- 2 to 3 cups plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 garlic clove, sliced
- ½ medium yellow onion, finely diced
- Kosher salt
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- Freshly ground black pepper
- ½ pounds eggplants (3 t medium), partially peeled and sliced into rounds ¼ inch thick
- 1 pound low-moisture mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
- ¾ cup grated Parmesan or pecorino
Instructions:
- Using a food mill or a food processor, process the whole tomatoes, with their juices, until lightly chopped. Add ½ cup water to one of the tomato cans and swirl out any remaining juices, then use the same water for the remaining cans. Add this water to the chopped tomatoes.
- In a pot large enough to hold the tomatoes, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium heat until warm. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the diced onion, season with salt, and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 3 to 4 minutes.
- Pour all of the tomatoes into the pot. Add the thyme. Season with salt and pepper. Let the sauce simmer over low heat until it is thickened and the flavors meld, about 1 hour, while you prepare the eggplant.
- Line a sheet pan with paper towels and keep near the stove. In a large sauté pan, heat ½ cup of the olive oil over medium heat until shimmering. Working in batches, add a few slices of eggplant to the oil and season with salt. Fry, turning occasionally, until lightly browned on both sides, 6 to 8 minutes total. Transfer to the paper towels and season lightly with salt. The eggplant will soak up a lot of oil while it cooks. Continue to cook the eggplant, adding about ¼ cup more oil to the pan per batch. Continue until all the eggplant slices have been browned.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- In a 9 X 13-inch baking dish, spoon a ladle (2 cups) of tomato sauce into the pan and spread it out so the bottom of the pan is covered. Place a layer of eggplant slices in the pan, laying them in like shingles. Follow with a layer of mozzarella slices. Add a sprinkling of grated cheese. Repeat the layers in this fashion until all the ingredients are used (set a little Parmesan aside). The top layer should end with tomato sauce (see Note).
- Bake the eggplant Parmesan, uncovered, until bubbling and hot, about 1 hour. Toward the end of the cooking time, sprinkle with the reserved Parmesan and let cook a few more minutes.
- Allow the eggplant to sit for about 1 hour before eating.
