Aubergine Parmigiana, parmigiana di melanzane in Italian, is one of the classic preparations of southern Italy.

The origins of the aubergine parmigiana are disputed between Emilia Romagna, Campania and Sicily. There are a lot of way to cook Parmigiana, depending on the regions and the cities but also on the family that holds its own traditional recipe.

Here the Sicilian Recipe from Palermo where it’s prepared with a single layer of sliced fried aubergines, covered with tomato sauce and with a rich sprinkling of grated caciocavallo cheese..but we love Parmigiana a lot so a single layer is not enough for us, we’ve just added some extra layers. INGREDIENTS:3 Violet Aubergines

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 Violet Aubergines
• 1 Tomatoes sauce bottle
• Grated caciocavallo
• Extra Virgin olive oil
• Basil
• Salt to taste
• Peanuts or Sunflower Oil
• 2 Garlic cloves

METHOD:

Cut the top and bottom off of the aubergine. Put it on its side and cut 1/4″ thick slices. Lay each of the slices on a dish towel and generously salt both sides. Let sit for about an hour. Preheat the oven to 200°. Heat the oil in a big pot. Fry the aubergine slices until lightly golden on both sides. Remove onto paper towel and pat dry.

In the meantime you can prepare the tomato sauce. Brown the minced garlic with extra virgin olive oil. Add the tomato sauce, a few basil leaves, add salt and pepper, and cook for about 15 minutes. At the bottom of your oven dish put a little bit of olive oil to coat the bottom along with some of the sauce.

Now its time for stacking! The order is:

1. Aubergine
2. Sauce
3. Caciocavallo

Continue until it’s all used up. Top layer should be cheese with a few basil leaves covered by a bit of cheese. Heat for 30-40 minutes until starting to bubble on top