Food: Rich Italian Bake Is So Easy To Make

Sep 14 2008 Michael Kilkie Of The Jefferson Restaurant

Ilove Italian food so this week I'll be showing you how to create one of the country's classic dishes. It's tasty, traditional fare that is a real treat for the tastebuds.

Parmigiana di melanzane is prepared across the length and breadth of Italy and every region, and probably every family, have their own variation of it.

The basic ingredients are aubergines, tomato sauce and cheese, layered up and baked in the oven.

Traditionally the dish would be eaten on its own as a main meal, perhaps with salad or fresh bread.

But you could easily use it as a vegetable accompaniment with meat, fish or poultry.

There are also plenty of ways to give the dish a modern twist, as I reveal in the circles right and above.

Like a lot of Italian cooking, parmigiana relies on a few good quality ingredients, cooked well.

There is a trend towards this in the UK now, with many chefs working on the principle that if your ingredients are of the finest quality you won't need to do much to them and they will speak for themselves.

Try to get the best quality ingredients you can and the end product should be outstanding.

Aubergines used to be very bitter and before use you had to salt them to draw out the sour flavour and excess moisture.

This is no longer necessary thanks to modern farming techniques.

The cheeses I've chosen are buffalo mozzarella and parmesan, which give a nice combination of sharp and mellow flavours as well as a combination of textures.

The mozzarella becomes stringy and gooey when cooked while the parmesan forms a crisp crust.

I prefer to make my own quick and simple tomato sauce but you could use a high quality shop-bought variety.

When cooking the aubergines, I follow tradition and fry them in flour to crisp them up before baking.

For something different, try grilling or char-grilling them.

PARMIGIANA DI MELANZANE (AUBERGINE PARMESAN)

Serves 4

3 aubergines, sliced lengthways to the thickness of bread

2 balls buffalo mozzarella, sliced

150g parmesan, finely grated

2 tbsp flour seasoned with salt and pepper

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 tin chopped tomatoes

Pinch of sugar

Salt and pepper

Handful fresh chopped basil

1 tbsp olive oil

METHOD

Fry the onion and garlic gently in 1tbsp of oil for five minutes until soft. Add the tomatoes, sugar and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes until thickened. Add the basil. Heat 1tbsp of oil in a frying pan, dust the aubergines with the flour and fry the slices on both sides for two or three minutes. Next, take an ovenproof dish and begin layering up, starting with the tomato sauce, then the cheeses, then the aubergine. Continue in this fashion, finishing with aubergines then tomato sauce then cheese. Bake in the oven uncovered for 30 to 40 minutes at 190C until golden and bubbling.

Customise your parmigiana by using different ingredients.

Parma ham works well because it is easy to build up the dish using layers of thin slices. Another alternative is courgettes. Slice them longways and prepare them in the same way as the aubergines. You could also try a mix of courgettes and aubergines. I also like to add chilli to the tomato sauce to give the dish a bit of heat. Varying your cheeses is also an option. Goats cheese isn't traditional but works well.