When I finally get to Rome with my huge list of what I’m going to eat there, and after sitting on a strict diet for six months, the first thing I do is go looking for it – the tempting, flavourful, appetite-awakening Parmigiana. As from every Odessa window in the summer one can hear the smells of fried peppers with garlic, so it seems to me that the aromas of Parmigiana are flying from the Roman homes. Its ingredients are always aubergines, tomato sauce, basil, and garlic, but cheeses can differ regionally. Thanks to all Arab merchants for bringing this purple miracle to the other side of the world!
When I finally get to Rome with my huge list of what I’m going to eat there, and after sitting on a strict diet for six months, the first thing I do is go looking for it – the tempting, flavourful, appetite-awakening Parmigiana. As from every Odessa window in the summer one can hear the smells of fried peppers with garlic, so it seems to me that the aromas of Parmigiana are flying from the Roman homes. Its ingredients are always aubergines, tomato sauce, basil, and garlic, but cheeses can differ regionally. Thanks to all Arab merchants for bringing this purple miracle to the other side of the world!- Prep time: 1 hour + 1 hour’s marinating
- Cook time: 30 minutes
- Serves: 6
- Difficulty: easy
- Course: appetizer
- Cookware: cheese grater, frying pan, baking dish, oil spray bottle
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
⠀- 2 medium aubergines
- 400 g canned peeled tomatoes
- ½ bunch of fresh basil, finely chopped, or 2 tbsp dry basil
- ½ onion, peeled, finely chopped
- 150 ml olive oil
- 50 g parmesan, grated
- 200 g mozzarella, thinly sliced
- ½ tsp sugar
- freshly ground black pepper
- salt
Cooking method
Step 1
Cut the aubergines into ½ cm slices, put in a colander, sprinkle with salt and leave for 1 hour to let the juice out.
Step 2
Heat olive oil in a saucepan and fry the onions over medium heat until golden brown. Increase heat to high, add tomatoes, salt, pepper, sugar and, stirring constantly, cook for 15 minutes. Add basil and cook for another 5 minutes. Remove sauce from heat.
Step 3
Heat the oven to 180°C. Dry the aubergines with kitchen paper. Heat olive oil in a frying pan over high heat and fry the aubergines on both sides until golden brown. Place the egg aubergines plants on a kitchen paper to remove the excess oil.
Step 4
Pour some of the tomato sauce on the bottom of the baking dish, lay out a layer of aubergines, sprinkle with parmesan, put a few pieces of mozzarella on top. Repeat layers until the form is full, so that the last layer is tomato sauce. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes.
My tips and tricks:
Aubergines are like a sponge: they have a porous structure. When you fry them, they absorb a lot of oil. To avoid this, you can fry the aubergines without pouring oil into the pan, but spray them with it before frying. Or you can use a grill pan. Oh, and by the way, Parmigiana is delicious hot as well as cold.
- 2 medium aubergines
- 400 g canned peeled tomatoes
- ½ bunch of fresh basil, finely chopped, or 2 tbsp dry basil
- ½ onion, peeled, finely chopped
- 150 ml olive oil
- 50 g parmesan, grated
- 200 g mozzarella, thinly sliced
- ½ tsp sugar
- freshly ground black pepper
- salt
- Cut the aubergines into ½ cm slices, put in a colander, sprinkle with salt and leave for 1 hour to let the juice out.
- Heat olive oil in a saucepan and fry the onions over medium heat until golden brown. Increase heat to high, add tomatoes, salt, pepper, sugar and, stirring constantly, cook for 15 minutes. Add basil and cook for another 5 minutes. Remove sauce from heat.
- Heat the oven to 180°C. Dry the aubergines with kitchen paper. Heat olive oil in a frying pan over high heat and fry the aubergines on both sides until golden brown. Place the egg aubergines plants on a kitchen paper to remove the excess oil.
- Pour some of the tomato sauce on the bottom of the baking dish, lay out a layer of aubergines, sprinkle with parmesan, put a few pieces of mozzarella on top. Repeat layers until the form is full, so that the last layer is tomato sauce. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes.