Miso Eggplant Parmigiana (Japanese × Italian)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 220 °C. Slice the eggplant 1 cm thick, lengthwise or into rounds, brush both sides with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Spread out without overlapping on lined baking trays (1 tray) and roast in the oven for 15 min, until golden and soft. If the slices overlap they steam instead of roast, so give them room.

   Add in this stepEggplant (aubergine) 400 gExtra-virgin olive oil 2⅛ tbspSalt 2 pinch

   oven

2. Put the rest of the olive oil and the garlic in a 18 cm saucepan and cook on medium-low heat for 1 min until fragrant, then add the tomatoes, turn down to low heat and simmer for 8 min. When a spatula drawn across the bottom leaves a trail for a moment, turn off the heat and stir in the miso and mirin until dissolved. Adding miso off the heat keeps its aroma.

   Add in this stepExtra-virgin olive oil 0.9 tbspGarlic cloves, thinly sliced 1Canned crushed tomatoes or chopped ripe tomatoes 200 gWhite (shiro) miso 1½ tbspMirin 2 tsp

   medium-low heat→low heat

3. Spread a thin layer of sauce over the base of a 20×15 cm baking dish, then add eggplant, basil and mozzarella and more sauce. Build 2 or 3 layers this way, finish with sauce and mozzarella, and scatter the Parmesan evenly over the top.

   Add in this stepBasil leaves 6Mozzarella, torn or sliced 100 gParmigiano Reggiano, finely grated 20 g

4. Lower the oven to 200 °C and bake for 15 min, until bubbling at the edges and golden on top. Let it stand for about 5 minutes before cutting so the layers hold.

   oven