The classic Parmigiana di Melanzane is one of those dishes I could eat every week: fried aubergines, a slow tomato sauce, mozzarella and a generous blanket of Parmesan. Nobody quite agrees where it comes from – Naples, Sicily and Parma all claim it – and every Italian nonna has her own version.
We went to Puglia recently for a cycling trip and had a different one than in Tuscany.
This is my adapted version.
I wanted something a bit more substantial for a family dinner, so I added a layer of pork – a pork and fennel ragù built into the tomato sauce – while keeping the traditional aubergines and tomatoes. It sits somewhere between a parmigiana and my Moussaka chez Mamy, but without the sauce blanche.
Ingredients:
- 4 or 5 aubergines (about 1.2kg)
- 80-100g plain flour (for dusting)
- Light olive oil for frying
- 800g minced pork (or good Italian sausages, skinned)
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 1 tsp fennel seeds, lightly crushed
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- My secret ingredient is a roasted long pepper
- A good, generous tbsp of tomato concentrate
- 2 x 400g tins of Mutti chopped tomatoes. I like arrabbiata sauce as well
- A splash of red wine (optional)
- A pinch of sugar, salt, black pepper and dried oregano
- A good handful of fresh basil
- 2 balls of mozzarella (250g), drained well and torn into small pieces
- 120g Parmigiano Reggiano, grated (some recipes mix in a bit of Pecorino)
- Extra virgin olive oil
- A deep oven dish.
How to Make:
- Slice the aubergines lengthways, about 5mm thick. (Air fry them with some olive oil to dry them off a bit and give them nice colour).
- Meanwhile, make the sauce. In a heavy pot (my Le Creuset again!), soften the onion and fennel in a little olive oil on medium heat for about 8 minutes until they melt and take a bit of colour.
- Turn up the heat, add the pork and the fennel seeds and brown the meat well, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. Add the garlic for the last minute.
- Add the tomato concentrate and let it cook for a minute, then deglaze with the red wine if using.
- Add the tomatoes, a pinch of sugar, the oregano, salt and pepper. Simmer gently for 30-40 minutes, lid half on, until thick. Tear in some basil at the end. The sauce should be rich but not watery.
- Brush the slices with olive oil and roast them under the grill (or in the air fryer at around 200°C) until golden, turning once. Less authentic, but a lot less oil.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (fan).
- Assemble: a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of the dish, then a layer of aubergines, a layer of the pork ragù, some mozzarella, a few basil leaves and a good sprinkle of Parmesan.
- Repeat (aubergines / pork sauce / mozzarella / basil / Parmesan) until everything is used. Finish with aubergines, a little sauce, the rest of the mozzarella and plenty of Parmesan on top.
- Bake for 35-45 minutes until bubbling and golden on top. If it colours too quickly, cover with aluminium foil.
- Leave it to rest for at least 15-20 minutes before cutting. It holds together much better and the flavours settle.
Serve with a green salad and some crusty bread. Like most of these layered dishes, it is even better the next day, and it freezes well.
Variation: some recipes keep the aubergine parmigiana fully vegetarian and serve breaded pork escalopes (flour, egg, breadcrumbs, then fried) on the side with a slice of lemon. Worth trying if you want to keep the two separate.
[Photos to add]
