Sicilian oven-baked gratin eggplants, delicious and ready in 20 minutes. Another recipe joins our collection of Tasty recipes with eggplants, but as you know, whether we’re talking about First courses with eggplants or Quick eggplant recipes, when this summer vegetable is involved everything becomes appetizing! The oven-baked gratin eggplants, crispy and full of flavor, with cherry tomatoes, olives and pine nuts, are a recipe inspired by Sicilian cuisine and they are spectacular! Covered with a crunchy, flavorful breadcrumb coating and garnished in a delightful way, eggplants prepared like this will make you fall in love at first bite, just like Grilled eggplant salad, Savory oven-baked eggplants and all the other Summer eggplant recipes we’ve prepared together over the years that you have loved so much. They also make a delicious and very easy vegetarian main or side dish! Ready to run to the kitchen? Let’s go, but first as always a reminder: if you want to stay updated on all my other recipes you can follow my Facebook page and my Instagram profile.
Do you love eggplant recipes? Have a look:
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very inexpensive
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Spring, Summer and Autumn
Ingredients to make the oven-baked gratin eggplants
- 2 cups breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan (Grana or pecorino)
- 1 1/3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tbsp capers (salted) (desalinated)
- 1 oz Taggiasca olives (in oil or whichever you have)
- 1 pinch oregano
- 1 pinch salt (only if needed and if you used unsalted bread)
- 2 eggplants (medium-large)
- as needed extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 1/3 cups cherry tomatoes
- 1.5 oz Taggiasca olives (or whichever you have)
- 2 tbsp pine nuts
- 1 pinch oregano
- 3 1/3 tbsp water (for the emulsion)
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Tools
- Oven
- Baking sheet
- Bowls
- Brush
- Parchment paper
Preparation
Rinse the eggplants, remove the stem and the other end, remove a strip of skin from one side and the other, and slice into pieces a little over 1 cm thick (about 3/8 in).
Arrange them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, prepare an emulsion by beating together the oil and water with a fork and brush it over the surface of the eggplants. Bake in a preheated oven at 392°F (conventional setting is preferable) for 10 minutes.
After the time has passed, turn the slices over and brush the other side. Bake for another 7–8 minutes. Meanwhile, rinse the cherry tomatoes, cut them in halves or quarters, place them in a bowl and season with salt, oil and oregano. Set aside.
While the eggplants are cooking prepare the breadcrumb coating: put the breadcrumbs in a bowl, add the oil and the grated cheese,
the tomato paste, a little water to adjust the texture of the breadcrumbs, and the chopped olives and capers together.
Mix everything and distribute the coating generously over the eggplants.
Then spread the cherry tomatoes with their juices, add the olives and pine nuts. Return to the oven for 2–3 minutes at 392°F and our gratin eggplants are ready to serve — they are also excellent at room temperature and after a few hours of resting.
Storage and tips
The Sicilian oven-baked gratin eggplants keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 days if stored in an airtight container. Reheat them or let them come to room temperature before enjoying.
