To begin making the Italian Baked Eggplant in Tomato & Parmesan, first slice the eggplants and soak it in water for 15 minutes. This helps the eggplant to soften.

Preheat the oven to 200 C. In a sauce pan, add couple of tablespoon of olive oil and place it over medium heat. Add the chopped garlic and saute for a few seconds. Add the pasta sauce and and give it a brisk boil and turn off the heat. You can also use a homemade pasta sauce recipe. Once done, keep the pasta sauce aside.

In a wide skillet, we will not grill the eggplant. Heat olive oil in the skillet and place the eggplants in the skillet. Cook the eggplants over medium high heat until cooked on both sides - it should get softened. Once done, remove from the pan and keep aside.

The final step is to bake the eggplants along with the pasta sauce and cheese. Roughly tear the basil leaves into the pasta sauce and stir. Check the salt and adjust to suit your taste.

Layer a few eggplants at the bottom in an oven proof baking dish. Spoon over the tomato basil pasta sauce over the eggplants and sprinkle some cheese. Place another layer of eggplants over this and repeat the same process. Finally pour the remaining sauce and cheese on the top and bake in the preheated oven for about 25 to 30 minutes until the cheese is golden brown in colour.

Once done, remove from the oven and serve the Melanzane alla Parmigiana.

Serve the Melanzane alla Parmigiana (Baked Eggplant in Tomato Sauce) warm along with a crusted bread, a Asian Watermelon Salad and a glass of wine for dinner.