Nothing says Italian like a little parm. Eggplant Parm, that is. Colavita’s version keeps it healthy, by roasting the eggplant instead of frying. This dish might win “Most Versatile,” as you can serve it as a main, turn it into a pizza, and even have it for breakfast! A little breadcrumb crunch gives this dish some texture.
The process for making the Eggplant Parmesan dish into a pizza is just slightly different. As pizza takes less time to cook, you must first pre-roast the eggplant on it’s own to get it started.
First soak the eggplant: Slice the eggplant into thin rounds. ⅛” thick is best. You can use a mandolin slicer to help with this process if you like, but a steady hand and a sharp knife will do. Fill a large bowl with water and mix in about 2 tsp salt.
Soak the eggplant in the water for at least 1 hour, but up to 2 hours.
Place the eggplant slices on a parchment-lined baking sheet and drizzle with Colavita Olive Oil.
Massage the Colavita Olive Oil into the eggplant slices to make sure it is absorbed. Sprinkle with sea salt and roast in the oven at 400°F for 5 minutes on each side. Remove from the oven and set aside.
Increase the heat of your oven to 500°F and allow a pizza stone (if using) to heat with the oven for about 30 minutes before using it.
In a blender, combine the roasted tomatoes (if using), the crushed tomatoes, 4 leaves of fresh basil and a pinch of salt. Puree. This is your pizza sauce. If you are just using crushed tomatoes from the can, you can skip this step and use the canned tomatoes as the sauce.
Stretch out the semolina dough into a round about 10” in diameter. If using a pizza peel, dust it with semolina flour first and then stretch out your dough on top.
Using a spoon, spread a thin layer of the roasted tomato sauce on top of the dough. Then place the roasted eggplant slices on top of the sauce. You can overlap the slices, but don’t weigh your pizza down!
Coat the tops of the eggplant slices with some more tomato sauce, then place on a few basil leaves and the smoked mozzarella, distributing each evenly. Then sprinkle some seasoned breadcrumbs over the top - just enough to add a little crunch.
Drizzle with Colavita Olive Oil and sprinkle with sea salt. Bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes or until your cheese is bubbling and the crust is golden brown.
Remove from the oven and serve with more fresh basil and grated parmesan cheese.
Servings 4