PARMIGIANA DI ZUCCHINI (O MELANZANE) Baked zucchini (or eggplant) with cheese
Contrary to common belief, the original parmigiana, an eggplant and cheese bake, comes from Sicily and not Emilia-Romagna, but all of Italy cooks the dish with gusto, and it is vegetarian. Using zucchini makes for a lighter dish, as they absorb less oil. This is delicious for a light lunch on a sunny Sunday and, although there is a lot of work involved, it is so worthwhile if you are feeding a crowd.
serves / 4
1kg zucchini, trimmed and cut lengthways into 8mm slices, or 1kg eggplants, trimmed and cut lengthways into thick 1cm slices Plain flour (all-purpose
flour), for dusting 3 large eggs, beaten A mixture of olive oil and sunflower oil, for shallow-frying 600g taleggio cheese, cut
into small chunks 100g parmesan, freshly
grated Basic tomato sauce, to serve 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 2 garlic cloves, or
alternatively 1 small onion, peeled and
chopped 1kg very ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped, or 2 x 400g tins of chopped tomatoes 2 tbsp torn fresh basil
leaves Salt and freshly ground
black pepper 1Make
the tomato sauce first, by putting the olive oil into a large saucepan with the garlic or onion, and fry gently for 8–10 minutes to soften. Add the tomatoes and basil, with salt and pepper to taste. Let the sauce gently cook for 20 minutes, or longer if you want a more concentrated taste. Set aside. 2Now
take the slices of the chosen vegetable. Dip them first into flour and then into the beaten egg. Heat a mixture of olive oil and sunflower oil in a frying pan, to a depth of about 2cm. Working in batches, fry the vegetable slices until golden on both sides, some 5–8 minutes, then set aside on absorbent kitchen paper. Repeat until all the slices have been fried. 3Preheat
the oven to 200C. To assemble the parmigiana, take a baking tray or baking dish of about 20 x 30cm and about 8–10cm deep. Spread some of the sauce in the base, and start to build up layers of vegetables and sliced cheese. Sprinkle with parmesan, then add another layer of tomato sauce. Continue until you have used up all the ingredients, finishing with parmesan. 4Bake
in the preheated oven for 30–35 minutes. Let it rest and cool for a while before you serve.