Parmigiana di Melanzane

Name: Parmigiana di Melanzane
Prep time: 90 min
Cook time: 100 min
Total time: 190 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 1.5 kg firm dark aubergines (about 3 large); 2 tbsp coarse sea salt (for drawing out the aubergine juices); 1 l olive oil or sunflower oil for frying; 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (for the sauce); 2 cloves garlic (peeled and lightly crushed); 1.4 l tomato passata (two 700 ml bottles); 1 bunch fresh basil (about 30 leaves); 400 g fior di latte mozzarella (often made with animal rennet; check the label if this matters to you. Scamorza or provola, if used instead, frequently use animal rennet too); 120 g Parmigiano Reggiano (finely grated; made with animal rennet by law, not vegetarian); salt (to taste, for the sauce)

Serves 6 · 190 min · Italian

Ingredients

1.5 kg firm dark aubergines
2 tbsp coarse sea salt
1 L olive oil or sunflower oil for frying
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1.4 L tomato passata
1 bunch fresh basil
400 g fior di latte mozzarella
120 g Parmigiano Reggiano
to taste salt

Method

01
Slice the aubergines Trim the ends off the aubergines and cut them lengthwise into slices about one centimetre thick.
02
Salt and press Layer the slices in a colander, sprinkling coarse salt between each layer, put a plate and a heavy weight on top, and leave them to drain for one hour.
03
Drain the mozzarella While the aubergines drain, cut the mozzarella into thin slices and leave them in a sieve over a bowl so the excess whey runs off.
04
Soften the garlic Warm the extra virgin olive oil in a wide pan over low heat and cook the crushed garlic gently until it is just golden.
05
Simmer the sauce Pour in the passata, add a good pinch of salt and a few basil leaves, and simmer uncovered, stirring now and then, until slightly thickened. Remove the garlic at the end.
06
Dry the aubergines Rinse the salt off the aubergine slices, squeeze them gently, and pat them completely dry with a clean cloth.
07
Heat the frying oil Heat the frying oil in a deep, wide pan to about one hundred and seventy degrees Celsius.
08
Fry the aubergines Fry the slices in batches without crowding, turning once, until golden on both sides, then lift them onto kitchen paper to drain. Repeat until all the slices are fried.
09
Preheat the oven Heat the oven to one hundred and eighty degrees Celsius.
10
Layer the dish Spread a few spoonfuls of sauce over the bottom of a baking dish about twenty by thirty centimetres, then build layers of aubergine, sauce, mozzarella, grated Parmigiano and torn basil, repeating three or four times and finishing with sauce and a generous blanket of Parmigiano.
11
Bake Bake on the middle shelf until the top is bubbling and lightly browned at the edges.
12
Rest before serving Let the parmigiana rest out of the oven before cutting it into squares.

Method

Slice the aubergines

Trim the ends off the aubergines and cut them lengthwise into slices about one centimetre thick.

Keep the slices even so they fry at the same speed; thin slices burn and thick ones stay spongy.

Salt and press

Layer the slices in a colander, sprinkling coarse salt between each layer, put a plate and a heavy weight on top, and leave them to drain for one hour.

Salt and press · 60 min

Drain the mozzarella

While the aubergines drain, cut the mozzarella into thin slices and leave them in a sieve over a bowl so the excess whey runs off.

Wet mozzarella makes a watery parmigiana, so do not skip this.

Drain the mozzarella · 30 min

Soften the garlic

Warm the extra virgin olive oil in a wide pan over low heat and cook the crushed garlic gently until it is just golden.

Take the garlic out if it starts to brown, or the sauce will taste bitter.

Soften the garlic · 2 min

Simmer the sauce

Pour in the passata, add a good pinch of salt and a few basil leaves, and simmer uncovered, stirring now and then, until slightly thickened. Remove the garlic at the end.

Simmer the sauce · 25 min

Dry the aubergines

Rinse the salt off the aubergine slices, squeeze them gently, and pat them completely dry with a clean cloth.

Heat the frying oil

Heat the frying oil in a deep, wide pan to about one hundred and seventy degrees Celsius.

Without a thermometer, the oil is ready when a small piece of aubergine sizzles steadily straight away.

Heat the frying oil · 7 min

Fry the aubergines

Fry the slices in batches without crowding, turning once, until golden on both sides, then lift them onto kitchen paper to drain. Repeat until all the slices are fried.

Each batch takes about three minutes; let the oil come back to temperature between batches or the aubergine will soak up oil.

Fry the aubergines · 3 min

Preheat the oven

Heat the oven to one hundred and eighty degrees Celsius.

Preheat the oven · 10 min

Layer the dish

Spread a few spoonfuls of sauce over the bottom of a baking dish about twenty by thirty centimetres, then build layers of aubergine, sauce, mozzarella, grated Parmigiano and torn basil, repeating three or four times and finishing with sauce and a generous blanket of Parmigiano.

Bake

Bake on the middle shelf until the top is bubbling and lightly browned at the edges.

Bake · 40 min

Rest before serving

Let the parmigiana rest out of the oven before cutting it into squares.

Cut it too soon and the layers slide apart; many southern Italian families prefer it lukewarm or even the next day.

Rest before serving · 20 min

Parmigiana di Melanzane

Ingredients

Method

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