20/12/2017

Eggplants Parmigiana

(or one of its variants)

This recipe originates somewhere in the south of Italy sometime around the seventeen hundreds, when eggplants and tomatoes finally made it in the mediterranean cuisine. They both had existed for quite some time (eggplants coming from Asia in the Middle Age, and tomatoes coming from the New World after it was “discovered”), but like everything new, it took some time to be accepted. Napolitans say it originates in Napoli, sicilians say it comes from Sicily, people from the city of Parma, in the north, swear it’s their invention (yeah, sure), but since I come from the Napoli region, then it’s decided, it’s a napolitan recipe, ok? Ok.

Even if it has few basic ingredients (one of wich, the most important, is of course Parmigiano cheese*), it has a lot of variants; probably every family has its own version, and sometimes even in the same family it can be a matter of discussion. For example in my family, my aunt Tettella fries the eggplant slices after being egged and floured. I only flour them. She uses mozarella, I use ricotta. I love her parmigiana, but I think mine is superior of course. My girlfriend, who comes from a parmigiana-free country (Sweden), and is not usually influenced by such trivial things as “love” and “affection” in her judgement, thinks mine is way better. So it’s decided, the recipe you’re about to read makes for the best eggplant Parmigiana ever. Ok? Ok

However, since I have said somewhere here that I’m not a fundamentalist any more, this is some variants you might want to try in your parmigiana making:
– don’t use ricotta but mozzarella instead, or even better provola (which is a kind of smoked mozzarella)
– use both ricotta and mozzarella/provola
– fry the eggplants after being floured/egged/breaded
– fry the eggplants after being egged only
– roast the eggplants for a “lighter” version
– any combination of the above

*when I say Parmigiano cheese, I mean the real thing, please don’t use any of that parmesan crap, do yourself a favour.

1 and a half hours 6 servings

Ingredients

4 eggplants (about 1 kg)
250 gricotta
30 gmilk
300 gParmigiano Regiano
salt to taste
vegetable oil to deep-fry
for the tomato sauce
1 lttomato sauce
2 tbsolive oil
1 clovegarlic
black pepper to taste
salt to taste

Directions

Start by preparing the tomato sauce. As for any tomato-based sauce, heat olive oil with a clove of garlic on medium-high until the garlic gets golden brown. Pour in the raw tomato sauce from the can, plus a couple of tablespoons of water if the tomato is very thick (I usally “wash” the tomato sauce bottle or carton with some water and pour it in the pan with the rest). Add salt and pepper to taste, and let cook on medium-low for 15 minutes.
While the tomato sauce is cooking, slice the eggplants in 2-3 mm slices, put them in a big bowl, cover with water and add abundant salt: this will help to get rid of some of the bitterness eggplants sometimes have (if they’ve been harvested too late, or if they have been sitting in the fridge for a while). You can actually skip this if you are in a hurry, it’s not strictly necessary. I do it only when I have time, because the slices have to sit in the water for at least 30 minutes. It’s important, however, that you rinse the slices, so that the flour will stick to them, as in the next step.
Throw the flour in a big bowl and, one at a time, flour the eggplant slices, shake them well to eliminate excessive flour, and arrange them nicely in a plate ready to fry.
Heat the vegetable oil in a big frying pan at around 150° C, and being very careful, put the floured slices in the hot oil without cramming them too much. Fry the slices turning them every now and again, until they get golden brown. When done, arrange them in a plate lined with absorbent paper or, like I do, in a oil-drainer (these might be hard to find out of italy, however…). It will take some time to fry all the slices, and you will probably need to add some oil after a while. Also, don’t forget to salt the slices when they’re out of the oil.
Prepare the ricotta for the final composition: add some milk to it and mix until it’s easily spreadable. I mean, ricotta is spreadable already in its normal form, but you want it just a bit more liquid than that. Also, grate all the Parmigiano cheese, ready for the “assembly-line”. And, start pre-heating the oven at 180°C.
Now you have the tomato sauce, the spreadable ricotta, the parmigiano, and the fried slices of eggplant. All you have to do is assemble them in layers, just like what you would do for Lasagne. Start with just a little bit of tomato sauce on the bottom of a 20cmx30cm oven plate (use one that is at least 5/6 cm tall), and than it goes like this: one layer of eggplants, a couple of tablespoons of ricotta, well spread on the entire surface, 3 tablespoons of tomatosauce also well spread, 2/3 tablespoons of grated parmigiano. Go on like this until all the ingredients are over, but remember, for the last layer, to skip the ricotta; it will be only eggplants, tomato sauce, Parmigiano.
All you have to do is cook it in the oven for 45 minutes, and, VERY IMPORTANT, let it rest for 45 more minutes after it’s cooked: all the flavours will have time to set, and the consistency will become nice and firm.

You won’t believe it but in Italy this thing is considered a side dish, something you eat after a big bowl of pasta, a steak, and why not some green salad. I really think it’s a complete dish though, it has everything, and I usually eat it with a side of more Parmigiana. Yep, like two servings. It’s also good to be eaten at room-temperature or straight out-of-the-fridge cold. You can freeze it and then bring it to work in your lunch-box, or save it for those rainy days when you want to treat yourself to something special.

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