Aubergines Parma Style
My father-in-law comes from this region and this is one of the dishes he likes to show off. It is
very simple and even people who say they don’t like aubergines are always surprised at how
good it tastes. The number of layers doesn’t matter too much as long as they are single (not
overlapping or double layers) and that you end with tomato sauce and Parmesan on the top
layer. Serves 4
Ingredients:
3 large aubergines
oil for frying
150 g fresh mozzarella, sliced
250 ml tomato-based pasta sauce
200 g Parmesan cheese, grated
fresh basil to taste
salt
Wash the aubergines, dry and then cut into 1 cm thick strips lengthways. Generously sprinkle
with salt to draw out their bitter water, and place on a clean tea towel, turning after 30 minutes
and repeating on the other side. Wash and dry to remove the excess salt.
Heat the oil in a frying pan. Fry the aubergines until lightly browned on both sides.
Arrange layers of aubergines, mozzarella, tomato sauce, then Parmesan and basil, in a
baking dish, repeating to make a multi-layered dish. Bake at Gas Mark 4/180°C until warmed
through and the Parmesan on top has lightly browned. Serve hot.
*taken from the book ‘From Seed to plate’ by Paolo Arrigo, published by Simon and Schuster
