Recipe: Melanzane alla parmigiana
Melanzane alla parmigiana basically just means aubergine with Parmesan cheese. It does sound a little more tempting in Italian, though. And taking an oven dish full of bubbling cheese out of the oven is an ultimate moment of happiness every time. Always make too much, because this is delicious on a sandwich the next day!
Emma de Thouars is addicted to aubergine and shares not only her favourite Melanzane recipe, but also a recipe for a very quick (10-minute) tomato sauce (if you’re feeling lazy, you can also use ready-made sauce). The aubergine, basil and cheeses already provide plenty of delicious flavour on their own. Delicious with good bread for mopping up the tomato sauce, or serve with a simple salad.
How to make Melanzane alla parmigiana
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Season the aubergine with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in a frying pan and fry the aubergine in batches until soft and starting to colour. Drain on kitchen paper.
Put 1/3 of the tomato sauce in an oven dish and place 1/3 of the fried aubergine on top. Then add 1/3 of the basil, followed by 1/3 of the mozzarella and 1/3 of the Parmesan cheese. Repeat this step two more times.
Make the layers really thin, because the cheese makes the dish quite rich. The layers of aubergine and mozzarella do not need to cover the entire dish either. You can also use more of everything if you want to make thicker layers, but in principle this should be enough. Now sprinkle the dish with the breadcrumbs and place the oven dish in the oven for 30 minutes. Let it cool very briefly before digging in—you don’t want to burn your tongue.
How to make that delicious tomato sauce
Heat olive oil in a pan. Fry the onions and garlic over low heat for about 5 minutes, until translucent. Add the tinned tomatoes and simmer for about 5 minutes. Put the sauce in the food processor and purée. Make sure to put the lid on properly—the sauce is boiling hot, so splashes are not fun. Season with pepper and salt.
Wine tip
Do you find it difficult to choose a wine to go with your dish? Then always remember this rule: ‘what grows together, goes together.’ In other words: dishes from a particular region pair very well with wines from the same area. With this typical Italian dish, I like to drink the typical Italian Sangiovese. Sangiovese wines have refreshing acidity, fine tannins and some bitterness. It is a wine that pairs very well with dishes in which tomato plays a major role. The Rosso di Montalcino doc ‘Castello Banfi’ is one such wine. Soft but also exciting, very approachable and easy to drink. Delicious! This wine is available, among other places, from wijnig.nl.
Also read:
