Parmigiana di Melanzane
Baked Aubergine with Tomato, Mozzarella and Parmigiano
Slices of aubergine, fried until soft and golden, layered with tomato sauce, mozzarella, Parmigiano and basil and baked until the top crusts. It is rich, it is better lukewarm than hot, and it is better still the next day.
The Italian recipe read slices the aubergines lengthways, salts them for half an hour, flours them lightly and fries them in plenty of oil, then layers them with passata, mozzarella and Parmigiano and bakes at 180°C for 30 minutes, with 5 minutes under the grill.
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 1 kg aubergines, sliced lengthways about 5 mm thick
- Fine sea salt
- Plain flour, for dusting
- 1 litre sunflower oil, for frying
- 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 garlic clove, lightly crushed
- 500 ml tomato passata
- A large handful of basil leaves
- 300 g mozzarella, drained well and torn
- 100 g Parmigiano Reggiano, finely grated
Method
- Salt the aubergines Layer the slices in a colander, salting each layer generously. Leave for 30 minutes, then rinse and pat completely dry.
- Make the sauce Heat the olive oil and garlic in a saucepan, add the passata, half the basil and a pinch of salt and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove the garlic.
- Fry Heat the sunflower oil in a deep frying pan, no more than a third full, to 175°C. Dust the slices lightly with flour and fry in batches for 2 to 3 minutes a side until golden. Drain well on kitchen paper.
- Layer Heat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan). Spread a little sauce in the dish. Add a layer of aubergine, then sauce, mozzarella, Parmigiano and basil. Repeat until everything is used, finishing with sauce and Parmigiano.
- Bake Bake for 30 minutes, then put under a hot grill for 5 minutes until the top is browned and bubbling. Rest for at least 20 minutes before cutting.
Food safety
Deep-frying: never fill the pan more than a third full, never leave hot oil unattended and keep a lid to hand. Dry the aubergine slices thoroughly before frying.
Resting matters. Cut hot, it collapses.