Eggplant Parmigiana - Aubergine Parmigiana
Mama Isa makes a delicious dish today! She shares her tips and a recipe with you!
MAMA ISA'S MELANZANE ALLA PARMIGIANA (Aubergine Parmigiana - Eggplant Parmigiana)
INGREDIENTS (serves 4 people)
8 long Italian Eggplants (black, long, thin and firm eggplants)
salt
500 g Mozzarella cheese in its water
150 g of Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano cheese (freshly grated, not canned parmesan)
500 g smoked Provola cheese (or any similar smoked cheese)
50 wheat flour 00 to coat the aubergine eggplant
Fresh basil leaves (fresh or frozen in winter)
Vegetable Oil for frying (Peanut Oil)
1 cup of Mama Isa’s Tomato Sauce
Mama Isa’s Secrets:
The type of aubergine that I use is very, very important in this recipe. The eggplant needs to be black, long, thin and firm.
3 hours before making the Parmigiana remove the mozzarella cheese from the water and place in a bowl in the fridge to dry out (the water contained in the mozzarella cheese will leak into your eggplant and you will have a soggy eggplant Parmigiana).
DIRECTIONS:
Wash the eggplant and remove the top and end of each eggplant. Use a carrot peeler to peel the skin of the eggplant lengthwise, like a zebra, keeping some of the skin on the eggplant to mantain the vitamins and flavor of the eggplant.
Once the eggplant is peeled, slice it lengthwise into long pieces about 1 cm thick. Do not slice too thin, as it will reduce in size during cooking.
Layer the eggplant slices around the edge of a colander/strainer; sprinkle each slice of eggplant with sea salt: this step helps removing the bitter taste from the eggplant.
Sit for about 30 minutes, then gently squeeze out excess bitter water from the eggplant slices and dry the eggplant slice with paper towels, but please do not rinse off the salt!
Place the wheat flour 00 on a plate.
Quickly dip each slice of eggplant into the wheat flour to cover on both sides.
Using a deep frying-pan, pour in at least a quart of vegetable oil, but doo not overfill the frying pan.
The vegetable oil should be very hot, at least 190 degrees Celsius.
Test to see if the vegetable oil is hot enough by placing a wooden toothpick in the oil. If you see bubbles around the toothpick the oil temperature is ok.
Fry the eggplant slices until they are golden brown.
Remove them from the vegetable oil and place them onto a paper towel to absorb any excess oil.
Preheat the oven to 175 degrees Celsius.
Gather the ingredients, including the tomato sauce, mozzarella and smoked provola cheeses, grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano cheese, and slices of eggplant.
Layer the Eggplant Parmigiana in a baking dish in three-four layers as follows:
FIRST LAYER:
Tomato Sauce (a few tablespoons)
Eggplant, almost two layers in one
Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano cheese, grated
Mozzarella cheese, sliced
Smoked provola cheese, sliced
Basil leaves (or fresh or frozen)
SECOND LAYER:
Tomato Sauce (a few tablespoons)
Eggplant, almost two layers in one
Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano cheese, grated
Mozzarella cheese, sliced
Smoked provola cheese, sliced
Basil leaves (or fresh or frozen)
THE LAST LAYER (usually the third)
Eggplant, almost two layers in one
Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano cheese, grated
Smoked provola cheese, sliced (but not mozzarella cheese!!!)
Basil leaves (or fresh or frozen)
Tomato Sauce (a few tablespoons)
Bake the eggplant Parmigiana in the preheated oven for about 60 minutes. Then turn off the heat in the oven, and with the oven door open, leave the Eggplant Parmigiana for about 15 minutes. Then, remove the Eggplant Parmigiana from the oven and let it sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before serving.
Mama Isa’s Tomato Sauce
INGREDIENTS:
500 g of good canned tomatoes pureed (I use my canned tomatoes, anyway you can make the sauce with a good puree canned tomato, i.e. POMI or MUTTI)
6-7 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves fresh garlic
1 small onion
Salt to taste
Basil leaves (or fresh in summer or frozen in winter)
DIRECTIONS:
Add the extra virgin olive oil, onion to a sauce-pot, and heat the ingredients over a high flame. Sautee for a few minutes, then add the garlic, and sautee it.
Be careful not to allowe the onion or the garlic to burn.
Then add the tomato puree to the pot. Season with salt.
Cook the sauce over a lower flame to simmer the sauce for a total of 20-30 minutes. At the end add the basil leaves.
INGREDIENTS (serves 4 people)
8 long Italian Eggplants (black, long, thin and firm eggplants)
salt
500 g Mozzarella cheese in its water
150 g of Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano cheese (freshly grated, not canned parmesan)
500 g smoked Provola cheese (or any similar smoked cheese)
50 wheat flour 00 to coat the aubergine eggplant
Fresh basil leaves (fresh or frozen in winter)
Vegetable Oil for frying (Peanut Oil)
1 cup of Mama Isa’s Tomato Sauce
Mama Isa’s Secrets:
The type of aubergine that I use is very, very important in this recipe. The eggplant needs to be black, long, thin and firm.
3 hours before making the Parmigiana remove the mozzarella cheese from the water and place in a bowl in the fridge to dry out (the water contained in the mozzarella cheese will leak into your eggplant and you will have a soggy eggplant Parmigiana).
DIRECTIONS:
Wash the eggplant and remove the top and end of each eggplant. Use a carrot peeler to peel the skin of the eggplant lengthwise, like a zebra, keeping some of the skin on the eggplant to mantain the vitamins and flavor of the eggplant.
Once the eggplant is peeled, slice it lengthwise into long pieces about 1 cm thick. Do not slice too thin, as it will reduce in size during cooking.
Layer the eggplant slices around the edge of a colander/strainer; sprinkle each slice of eggplant with sea salt: this step helps removing the bitter taste from the eggplant.
Sit for about 30 minutes, then gently squeeze out excess bitter water from the eggplant slices and dry the eggplant slice with paper towels, but please do not rinse off the salt!
Place the wheat flour 00 on a plate.
Quickly dip each slice of eggplant into the wheat flour to cover on both sides.
Using a deep frying-pan, pour in at least a quart of vegetable oil, but doo not overfill the frying pan.
The vegetable oil should be very hot, at least 190 degrees Celsius.
Test to see if the vegetable oil is hot enough by placing a wooden toothpick in the oil. If you see bubbles around the toothpick the oil temperature is ok.
Fry the eggplant slices until they are golden brown.
Remove them from the vegetable oil and place them onto a paper towel to absorb any excess oil.
Preheat the oven to 175 degrees Celsius.
Gather the ingredients, including the tomato sauce, mozzarella and smoked provola cheeses, grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano cheese, and slices of eggplant.
Layer the Eggplant Parmigiana in a baking dish in three-four layers as follows:
FIRST LAYER:
Tomato Sauce (a few tablespoons)
Eggplant, almost two layers in one
Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano cheese, grated
Mozzarella cheese, sliced
Smoked provola cheese, sliced
Basil leaves (or fresh or frozen)
SECOND LAYER:
Tomato Sauce (a few tablespoons)
Eggplant, almost two layers in one
Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano cheese, grated
Mozzarella cheese, sliced
Smoked provola cheese, sliced
Basil leaves (or fresh or frozen)
THE LAST LAYER (usually the third)
Eggplant, almost two layers in one
Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano cheese, grated
Smoked provola cheese, sliced (but not mozzarella cheese!!!)
Basil leaves (or fresh or frozen)
Tomato Sauce (a few tablespoons)
Bake the eggplant Parmigiana in the preheated oven for about 60 minutes. Then turn off the heat in the oven, and with the oven door open, leave the Eggplant Parmigiana for about 15 minutes. Then, remove the Eggplant Parmigiana from the oven and let it sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before serving.
.jpg "Melanzane alla Parmigiana - Aubergine Parmigiana - Eggplant Parmigiana") |
| Makin' Aubergine Parmigiana with Mama Isa |
.jpg "Mama Isa's Parmigiana di Melanzane - Eggplant Parmigiana - Aubergine Parmigiana with Mama Isa") |
| Mama Isa's Eggplant Parmigiana |
 |
| Mama Isa's Parmigiana di Melanzane - Eggplant Parmigiana - Aubergine Parmigiana with Mama Isa |
Mama Isa’s Tomato Sauce
INGREDIENTS:
500 g of good canned tomatoes pureed (I use my canned tomatoes, anyway you can make the sauce with a good puree canned tomato, i.e. POMI or MUTTI)
6-7 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves fresh garlic
1 small onion
Salt to taste
Basil leaves (or fresh in summer or frozen in winter)
DIRECTIONS:
Add the extra virgin olive oil, onion to a sauce-pot, and heat the ingredients over a high flame. Sautee for a few minutes, then add the garlic, and sautee it.
Be careful not to allowe the onion or the garlic to burn.
Then add the tomato puree to the pot. Season with salt.
Cook the sauce over a lower flame to simmer the sauce for a total of 20-30 minutes. At the end add the basil leaves.
 |
| Mama Isa's Tomato Sauce |