Bart's Recipes
Slice the eggplant lengthwise into one-centimeter slices, sprinkle both sides with salt, and let them sit on paper towels for fifteen minutes. This draws out moisture that would otherwise end up in the baking dish and make the whole dish watery. Pat the slices thoroughly dry.
Slice the zucchini into slices of the same thickness. Heat a grill pan, brush the eggplant and zucchini with three tablespoons of olive oil, and grill them in batches for three minutes per side until soft and marked with dark grill lines. Cook the eggplant all the way through, as undercooked eggplant remains spongy and bitter.
Finely chop the red onion and mince the garlic. Heat the remaining olive oil in a pan and sauté the onion for six minutes over medium heat until translucent. Add the garlic and oregano, cook for half a minute, and pour in the tomato passata. Let the sauce simmer for twenty minutes until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, and season to taste.
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Tear the mozzarella into pieces and let them drain in a sieve first.
Assemble the dish in a small baking dish: sauce, eggplant, mozzarella, basil, then zucchini, and repeat. End with sauce and grated Parmesan. Bake for twenty-five minutes until the top is golden brown and bubbling, and let the dish rest for ten minutes before slicing.
