Parmigiana di Melanzane – Aubergine Parmigiana is a southern Italian dish that is popular all over the world. It is an ode to the best of the summer produce and one of those magical dishes that comes together with the most basic ingredients.
The dish consists of pan-fried aubergines layered with tomato sauce, mozzarella and parmesan cheese and baked in the oven until it’s nicely golden and a crust forms. After that you’ll need another couple of hours to rest the dish. The taste benefits immensely from waiting and the slices stay intact and serve beautifully when the dish is cooler.
The origin of the dish is claimed by both Sicily and Campania regions of southern Italy and also by Emilia Romagna region in the north. There are different ways of doing this scrumptious summer dish, depending on the region. Some will first dip the aubergine slices in flour and egg wash before frying and some will mix a portion of the tomato sauce with beaten egg yolks. I personally prefer to make my parmigiana as simple as possible, so no eggs for me :):)
One step you should never miss is, that of resting the aubergine slices after sprinkling them with some salt. Aubergines will sweat with the help of the salt and release all the bitterness they usually have and that is crucial for a deliciously moorish parmigiana. This step will only take you a few minutes, just slice the aubergines lengthwise about 1 cm thick (half an inch is 1.27 cm so a little thinner). Place the slices in a colander, sprinkle each one with salt and forget about them for an hour.
As we wait for the aubergines to release their bitter juice we can get on with the tomato sauce. I like my sauce simple, just a garlic clove or two, a handful of torn basil leaves, a little salt and black pepper do magic for me. You can make your sauce with very finely chopped onions as well. I also use the minimum amount of olive oil in the sauce, just a Tbs or two to fry the garlic a little. That way the final dish comes out very light even though the main component is fried aubergine. I prefer to use the garlic whole and discard once the sauce is cooked but you can finely chop it if you like. And do try to get hold of some fresh basil as it takes a simple tomato sauce to another level.
- 1,5 kg aubergine/eggplant (3 pounds)
- 1200 gr chopped or plum tomatoes (whizzed up)
- 2x125 gr fresh mozzarella
- 100 gr grated parmesan
- 1 clove of garlic
- 1-2 Tbs olive oil
- a handful of fresh basil leaves
- salt and pepper
- oil for frying
- Slice the aubergines about 1 cm thick and place in a colander sprinkling each one with a good pinch of salt. Leave for an hour.
- Heat a Tbs or two of olive oil in a sauce pan and fry the garlic a little. Pour in the pureed tomato, add a handful of torn basil leaves and cook for 30-40 minutes on a med high heat. It might take a little longer depending on how watery your tomatoes are, what we are looking for is a thick and quite a concentrated sauce. Season to taste being careful with the salt as the aubergines do absorb a little salt too.
- Rinse the aubergine slices and lightly squeeze the excess water then place on a kitchen towel to dry a little.
- Heat about an inch of oil in a frying pan. Fry the aubergines without crowding the pan too much as it would lower the temperature of the oil. Once they have a nice golden colour place on paper towel.
- Cut the mozzarella into thin slices.
- Spread a few Tbs of tomato sauce onto the bottom of your baking dish.
- Arrange a layer of fried aubergines slightly overlapping each other.
- Cover the aubergines generously with a few Tbs of tomato sauce, mozzarella slices and a Tbs of grated parmesan. Repeat in the same order until you run out of aubergines, minimum three layers.
- Top the last layer of aubergines with tomato sauce and plenty of parmesan.
- Bake in a preheated oven (180 C) for 30-40 minutes until the cheese becomes golden and forms a crust on top.
- Let cool for at least two hours before serving.
It's best served slightly warm or at room temperature, tastes even better the day after.