Chef's pick
Melanzane alla parmigiana with rustic bread
There is one question that can divide an Italian family in under ninety seconds, and it is whether the aubergines for a parmigiana should be fried or grilled.
My mother's side fried. In a great deal of oil, in batches, standing at the hob for forty minutes in August with the window open and her hair tied back, producing slices so soft they barely held together on the way into the dish. My father's side grilled, on a ridged pan, which is quicker and lighter and leaves the kitchen habitable, and which my mother regarded as a form of dietary cowardice. These two positions were never reconciled. They were simply held, permanently, at different tables.
The honest answer is that frying is better and grilling is more sensible, and this recipe roasts, which is a third way that neither family would have accepted. Roasting at 220 degrees uses about a third of the oil, requires no standing over anything, and gets perhaps ninety per cent of the way to the fried version. On a Tuesday that is the right trade. On a Sunday in August, fry them, and accept what happens to the kitchen.
The other family argument concerns whether a parmigiana contains breadcrumbs, whether it contains egg, and whether basil goes between every layer or only some. The answers are no, no, and every layer. On this I am confident and my relatives are wrong.
What makes it belong in this book is that a parmigiana is at its worst straight out of the oven, when it is molten and structurally hopeless, and at its best the next day, when it has set and cuts into squares that hold their shape. It is a dish that improves in a fridge, which is the highest praise available here.
- Prep 25 min
- Cook 50 min
- Serves 4
- Cost €
Method
- 1
Heat the oven to 220°C fan. Brush the aubergine slices on both sides with 5 tbsp of the oil, salt them, and lay them on two trays without overlapping. Roast until deeply coloured and floppy, turning once.
25 min
- 2
Meanwhile warm the remaining oil with the garlic in a pan, add the passata, season, and simmer until thick enough to hold a line behind a spoon. Tear in half the basil.
20 min
- 3
Drain the mozzarella properly. Wet mozzarella is the single reason parmigiane come out soupy, and twenty minutes on kitchen paper solves it.
2 min
- 4
Build it: a smear of sauce, then aubergine, sauce, mozzarella, parmigiano, basil. Repeat for three layers, finishing with sauce and a heavy hand of parmigiano.
8 min
- 5
Bake at 190°C fan until the top is brown and the edges are bubbling.
30 min
- 6
Rest it for at least 20 minutes, or ideally until the next day. Cutting it hot gives you a puddle. Serve with bread for the sauce.
20 min
Variations
Fry the aubergine slices in olive oil instead of roasting for the traditional and better version. Add a layer of thinly sliced hard-boiled egg, or a scattering of crumbled sausage, both of which are done in the south. Smoked provola instead of mozzarella. Courgettes, sliced lengthways and treated identically, make a lighter summer version. Freezes cooked, in squares, for 2 months.