Eggplant casserole with Italian sauce

Ingredients

• 2 large eggplants
• coarse salt
• 2-3 stalks fresh thyme (I used basil)
• 1-2 bay leaves
• oregano, freshly ground pepper, sweet paprika to taste
• 50 g of grated parmesan or cheddar
• Pour fresh tomatoes with boiling water and skin or canned in their own juice 400 g
• ½ st. l. tomato paste (or juice from cons. tomatoes 150 ml)
• 2 tbsp. l. vegetable oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 small sweet red peppers, cut into strips
• A small chili pepper (optional, but it's on topic)
• 1 Art. l. brown sugar

Cooking

Step 1

Cut the washed eggplant into slices diagonally, generously sprinkle with coarse salt and let stand for about half an hour. After half an hour, discard, rinse with water and dry.

Step 2

Heat a frying pan with oil, add onion, garlic, thinly sliced chili pepper (optional) and fry for about a minute, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle with sugar, mix and add sweet pepper strips. Fry for a few minutes. Add tomatoes, blanched and grated, tomato paste. Mix. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Season with spices, put sprigs of thyme, bay leaf and cook without a lid for about 8-10 minutes, until thickened.

Step 3

Remove the bay leaf and thyme, beat the sauce with a blender and set aside. Fry prepared eggplants on both sides until soft in a small amount of vegetable oil. I use the grill in the MW, brushing the slices lightly with oil. Another option is to bake them in the oven.

Step 4

Put the eggplant in a heat-resistant form, pour over the sauce. Sprinkle with grated cheese and send to the oven preheated to 180 degrees.

Step 5

Bake for approximately 10 minutes or until cheese is melted. You can either pour the sauce over the slices, or alternate: at the bottom there is a layer of sauce (it turns out to be very thick), a layer of eggplant, and so on. The last layer should be the sauce, which you sprinkle with grated cheese.