Eggplants, or aubergines, are in season at the moment and with the days getting shorter and temperatures lower, it’s time to try the comfort food of the traditional Italian recipe, melanzane alla parmigiana.
I did my first attempt with an original recipe over the weekend and it is a combination of all that is good from traditional Italian products: eggplant, tomato, mozzarella and parmesan cheese.
Given those ingredients, it’s not one for those watching their calorie intake; the generous amount of mozzarella combined with frying the eggplant first means you’re getting a hit in one go of hearty food.
If you’re a salad person, this is not for you.
But it’s great reheated on a colder evening when you’re got no time for cooking and in fact, it’s even better (a bit like reheated lasagne leftovers – it tastes better the second time around).
The basic ingredients are above and while it sounds like it’s fiddly, it’s basically a process of dipping the eggplant in flour and egg, frying it, doing a tomato sauce and then layering in an oven dish with mozzarella and parmesan.
It will look so good that by the time you get to the baking stage of just 10-15min, your appetite will be more than stimulated.
For the full recipe, see Aglio, Olio e Peperoncino.