I can’t quite decide whether spaghetti bolognese, or this version of eggplant parmigiana is my favourite dish of all time. Since they both use ragu and it’s such a mission to make, I always make them together. It usually serves 2-4 people over 2 nights depending on how big they are.
Finely dice 2 large onions, 2 large carrots, and either 2 stalks celery or 1 large red capsicum. In a large sauce pan with a very generous amount of extra virgin olive oil, saute the vegetables along with salt, thyme (mandatory), bay leaf (optional), and other herbs (optional). While this is gently sizzling, brown 1kg of minced meat (50% beef, 50% pork). In an ideal world you would brown the whole lot, but what I do cook the whole kilogram of mince like a burger patty in a heavy pan so that at least some of the meat is browned. Add your meat to saucepan. Add 400-800g of tin tomatoes depending on how saucy you like your spaghetti bolognese. If you just want to make the parmigiana, add 800, not 400. Add salt and 1 tablespoon of sugar (optional). Turn the heat to low and cook all day. 5+ hours is best, but you can go as low as 2 in a pinch. If you have to leave the house, turn it off and resume cooking when you get home. When ready, save half and serve the rest over pasta with plenty of cheese.
The next night, slice 2 large eggplants in 5mm thick slices. Fry them in olive oil (in batches) until they are soft and light brown. Heat up the ragu, and add extra passata or tin tomatoes if necessary. If you want to make this dish without the ragu, make a sauce out of passata, herbs, etc and use that instead. Coat a deep oven dray with olive oil then layer eggplant, sauce, cheese. Repeat this until you run out of ingredients. The best ones I have made use alternating types of cheese, sometimes with fried haloumi, and end in a layer of grated parmigiano reggiano.