There is some prep to get this recipe into the slow cooker, but once it’s on it all comes together in delicious melting cheesiness. If you’d like added protein, serve alongside a piece of grilled chicken or fried firm tofu.
Let the slow cooker do the hard work in this rich aubergine parmigiana recipe!
Breaded aubergine slices are layered with a rich tomato sauce and plenty of gooey mozzarella and left to bubble away, for you to return to an easy, yet flavoursome meal.
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Yields:
6 serving(s)
Prep Time:
30 mins
Cook Time:
5 hrs 30 mins
Total Time:
6 hrs
Cal/Serv:
533
Ingredients
2
aubergines, cut into 1/2cm circles, around 550g
40g
plain flour
3
medium eggs, lightly beaten
200g
golden breadcrumbs
500g
passata
3Tbsp.
tomato purée
1
onion, finely chopped
2
garlic cloves, crushed
2tsp.
dried oregano
2tsp.
dried basil
2tsp.
caster sugar
500g
mozzarella, drained weight and sliced into 1/2cm rounds
100g
Parmesan or vegetarian hard cheese, finely grated
To serve, optional
Small handful of fresh basil, leaves picked
Directions
Step 1Line two baking trays with kitchen paper and lay on the aubergine slices in a single layer. Sprinkle with fine salt and leave for 20min to draw out as much moisture as possible. Pat dry and set aside.
Step 2Put flour with some seasoning, eggs and breadcrumbs into 3 separate shallow bowls. Dip each aubergine slice first into flour (tap off excess), then coat in egg and finally cover in breadcrumbs. Repeat until all aubergine slices are coated. Set aside.
Step 3In a medium bowl, mix passata, tomato purée, onion, garlic, dried herbs, sugar and 1tsp fine salt and a generous amount of freshy ground black pepper. Set aside.
Step 4To assemble, lay a single layer of aubergine slices in the base of the slow cooker. Spread over 1/4 of the tomato sauce, then lay over 1/4 of the mozzarella slices and sprinkle over 1/4 of hard cheese. Repeat this layering 3 more times, ending with a final sprinkling of hard cheese. Close the lid and cook on low for 51/2hr.
Step 5Serve garnished with basil, if using.
You can serve this as a main, or as a hearty side to griddled meats or fish.
We haven't fried off our breaded aubergine slices before adding them to the slow cooker, but for a crunchier texture, try frying them in a shallow amount of oil pre-adding them to your slow cooker.
An experienced and highly skilled team of food writers, stylists and digital content producers, the Good Housekeeping Cookery Team is a close-knit squad of food obsessives. Cookery Editor Emma Franklin is our resident chilli obsessive and barbecue expert, who spends an inordinate amount of time on holidays poking round the local supermarkets seeking out new and exciting foods. Senior Cookery Writer Alice Shields is a former pastry chef and baking fanatic who loves making bread and would have peanut butter with everything if she could. Her favourite carb is pasta, and our vibrant green spaghetti is her weeknight go-to. Lover of all things savoury, Senior Cookery Writer Grace Evans can be found eating crispy corn and nocellara olives at every opportunity, and will take the cheeseboard over dessert any time (though she cannot resist a slice of tres leches cake). With a wealth of professional kitchen know-how, culinary training and years of experience between them, they are all dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work (and if they don’t – we’ll have the answer for why*) every time (*90% of the time the answer is: “buy an separate oven thermometer”!).
