Eggplant parmigiana

• 1 hour prepare • 50 minutes to cook • Serves 4

Milinciani a parmiciana

 

Another dish with the flavors and colors of the Mediterranean region. Another link to sweet Sicilian memories.
Today it is the turn of eggplant parmigiana.

The origin of this dish is from Sicily and the name itself - parmigiana - comes from the Sicilian word parmiciana.
Parmiciana are the wooden strips which form the window shutters typical of the South of Italy, and which recall so much the layout of eggplant slices in this dish.

As it happens often with classic recipes, you may find lighter versions.
Tiramisù featuring ricotta cheese instead of mascarpone? Please, call it by a different name! Tart pastry made with oil as an alternative to butter? You eat it!
When you cook Italian masterpieces, you should treat them with respect.
Today, do not be scared of deep frying to prepare the real parmigiana.
When time has come to sin, sin to the fullest...

Here are ingredients for a 4-serving recipe:

 

2 eggplants
400 g tomato passata
1 clove garlic
10 basil leaves
100 g grated Parmesan cheese
125 g buffalo mozzarella
1 teaspoon sugar
1 l seed oil
EVO oil
salt

1. Prepare eggplants the same way as in Pasta alla Norma (check the recipe here): wash and dry them, then cut off their peduncle. Peel eggplants “half-way”, and slice them longitudinally about half a centimeter thick
2. Place eggplant slices in a colander and sprinkle them with cooking salt. Top with an upturned plate and place a weight above it. Let them sit for 1 hour
3. When this time has passed, carefully rinse the eggplants and place them to dry well on a clean cloth
4. Deep fry eggplants in abundant seed oil until they are nicely browned and soft, without crowding. Remove to a plate covered with paper towels and sprinkle with salt
5. Meanwhile, pour 4 tablespoons of EVO oil in a pan with 1 clove of garlic; when the clove has colored a little, add the tomato passata, sugar and salt and cook over low heat for 15 minutes more, until the tomato sauce thickens
6. Cut buffalo mozzarella into thin slices and place it in a colander to drain
7. Preheat oven to 180°C
8. In an 23 by 15-cm brownie pan, spread a few tablespoons of tomato sauce on the bottom. Then, arrange 4 large eggplant slices on top, placing them as close as possible. Over each slice, spread 1 tablespoon of tomato sauce and place one slice of mozzarella. Then, sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese. Arrange other 4 slices of eggplant on top, placing them perpendicular to the slices below. Repeat with tomato sauce, mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Go on with the layering until all the ingredients are used
9. Bake the eggplant parmigiana at 180° for 30 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving

Nutrition Facts are detailed in the table below. Data is provided per serving.

Le milinzane alla parmigiana che la cammerera gli aveva lasciate nel forno gli parsero di colpo scipite, ma non poteva essere, non era così, si trattava di un effetto psicologico nel vedersi tanto testa di minchia dintra la televisione.*

(Andrea Camilleri, Il cane di terracotta)

*The eggplant parmigiana that the maid had left him in the oven seemed suddenly tasteless but it was not possible, it was not like that, it was just the psychological effect of watching himself on television being so dickhead.