Let sit for 30-60 minutes, until they start to “sweat” - release liquid.
Squeeze out the liquid you can and then pet dry each eggplant slice with a paper towel.

Preheat vegetable oil until it’s hot but not “smoking”.

Do a test with a small piece of an eggplant first. It should start sizzling right away when placed in the oil and float atop.

Fry eggplant slices on each side for 2-3 minutes until light golden brown.
Layer fried eggplants on a paper towel and with a paper towel in between the layers.

In a large pan placed over medium heat reduce passata/ tomato sauce until it’s not runny as it was from the bottle but also not too thick as tomato paste. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Once cooked add fresh basil leaves. Stir well.

In a large casserole add a few spoons of tomato passata.

Layer fried eggplant over the bottom. Generously coat with grated Parmesan cheese, then Mozzarella cheese.

Repeat the process until you finish all the ingredients.

The last layer, as the previous ones should go like this: few spoons of passata -> fried eggplants -> Parmesan -> Mozzarella.

Bake in the preheat oven at 400F for 30-40 minutes.