Melanzane alla Parmigiana, a.k.a. Eggplant Parmesan

We Americans typically think that “parmesan” means “with lotsa cheese.” But in Italian cooking, it means in the style of Parma, a city in northern Italy between Bologna and Milan. Coincidentally, the city of Parma is famous for Parmesan cheese (Parmigiano Reggiano), a hard, granular cheese which is very tasty when grated or shaved into a variety of dishes. But Parma is also famous for many other dishes involving prosciutto, pork, mortadella, and many other ingredients – not just cheese.

Contrary to what its name suggests, this dish is Sicilian in origin and is found in various guises all over that island, southern Italy, and Sardinia. 

The first thing you should do is disabuse yourself of the notion that “parmesan” means breaded and fried - che orrore! There are no eggs nor breading involved in preparing proper Melanzane alla Parmigiana.

Think of it this way – if you have ever prepared a lasagna, imagine building one using no lasagna noodles but slices of fried eggplant instead. No meat, only eggplant, tomato sauce, and cheeses. But unbelievably scrumptious. 

Still, the mystery of the name, Melanzana alla Parmigiana, remains. The use of slices of eggplant reveals a clue as to the origin of the name. One likely theory is offered by Anna Pomar in her book  “La Cucina tradizionale siciliana”

“With its liberal use of aubergine [eggplants] and tomatoes, this is most likely an ancient Sicilian dish which, in many cookbooks is erroneously described as deriving its name from Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, one of the ingredients. However "parmigiana" is the Italianization of the Sicilian dialectal word "parmiciana", which refers to the slats of wood which compose the central part of a shutter and overlap in the same manner as the slices of aubergine in the dish.” 

Never mind. The name is not important. All we need do is prepare the dish and savor its sumptuous flavors.

This is not a 15 minute meal. Think, rather, of a Saturday afternoon. Buy the ingredients, fresh; then retire to your kitchen to compose. 

There are five major phases of this meal – but don’t be concerned. If you sip a little wine whilst performing these tasks, time will fly by. Enjoyably.

1. Slice the eggplant and draw out the excess moisture
2.  Prepare a tomato sauce
3. Fry the eggplant
4. Construct the finished dish
5. Bake until done

One final point. The recipe below will prepare a dinner portion for four to six depending on hunger. The recipe is easily doubled.

Ingredients:

2 large eggplants or 3 medium - 3-4 lbs in total

Salt for expressing moisture

Olive oil for preparing tomato sauce

28 oz can whole plum tomatoes

Pinch of turmeric

Red pepper flakes to taste (1/8 tsp. is safe)

Freshly ground black pepper

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 small red pepper (or 1/2 large), seeded and chopped

1 pinch baking soda, optional

2 cloves garlic, chopped

Olive oil for frying eggplant

16 oz. ricotta or fresh (soft) mozzarella, sliced thin

3-4 oz Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

Handful of basil leaves, roughly torn

1.     Slice the eggplant and draw out the excess moisture

·            Wash the eggplants

·            Slice the eggplants lengthwise approx. ¼” thick (do not peel)

·            Place a layer of eggplant slices on a platter – salt lightly.

·            Create another layer of slices at right angles and salt as above.

·            Continue this process until all slices are stacked and salted.

·            Place another platter upside down on top and weight down with several heavy cans of tomatoes or other weighty items.

·            Allow eggplant slices to rest for several hours – they will express a considerable amount of moisture.

2.       While waiting for eggplant slices to express moisture, prepare a tomato sauce

·            Place 3 TBS olive oil in a skillet and warm to medium heat.  Add turmeric, red pepper flakes, and freshly ground black pepper

·            Meanwhile, empty a 28 oz. can of whole plum tomatoes with juices into a bowl

·            Pluck and discard the stem-end of each tomato (to remove bitterness)

·            Crush every tomato thoroughly between your fingers (pretend that you’re back in kindergarten and really mush them)

·            Add 1 medium onion and fresh red pepper, chopped, to hot oil

·            Sauté until onion and pepper are softened and reduced, browned but not crisped

·            Pour tomatoes into skillet and heat to boiling, then reduce to simmer

·           Taste sauce - if acidic, add 1 pinch baking soda to remove acidity

·            Simmer until thickened and oil separates

·            Add 2 cloves garlic, chopped, and simmer for 2 additional minutes

3.       Fry the eggplant

·            In a large skillet, heat a tablespoon of olive oil to medium heat

·            Place several strips of eggplant in the skillet, as many as will fit without overlapping

·            Fry until softened, then flip and brown the other side

·            Cook until softened and browned, then remove fryed eggplant slices to a platter

·            Repeat until all slices are fried.  Add olive oil to skillet as needed

4.       Construct the finished dish

·            In a 12”x8” baking dish, start with a thin layer of sauce on the bottom

·            Place a layer of eggplant slices in the baking dish

·            Distribute a layer of thinly sliced soft cheese

·            Cover with a thin layer of tomato sauce

·            Repeat until all eggplant slices have been used.

·            Top with the remaining sauce, a generous layer of freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.

·            Place in the oven and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and top with torn basil leaves. 


Serve with a yummy Italian wine, slices of a hard crust bread, and a nice green side salad.

Buon appetito!  
  
Preparation tips

Thickness of slices

If the eggplants slices aren't regular, i.e., some too thin and some too thick, or even a single slice that has thin and thick areas, it will be difficult to fry them to a regular consistency. The eggplant slices must be fried to a soft, silky doneness to make the dish work.  

One approach to handle thick slices is to press down on the slice with a stiff pancake turner as it is frying. This forces liquid out of the thick area of the slice and makes it cook more quickly and thoroughly.

Another approach is to ensure that all of the slices are regular. This can be most easily accomplished by using a slicing mandolin set to 1/4". 

Amount of salt

The slices of eggplant are salted, stacked, and set aside to express moisture. If you have used little salt (lightly salted), then the salt need not be removed.  But if you have heavily salted the slices and don't remove it, the dish will be too salty. You can remove excess salt by wiping each slice with a damp paper towel or a quick rinse under the faucet. (No, rinsing won't add moisture to the eggplant; the water will run right off).