Eggplant parmigiana is restaurant’s specialty

Sapori di Napoli thinly slices eggplant, layers with cheese and basil.

Sapori di Napoli

314 Church St., Decatur. 404-371-0001, saporidinapolipizzeria.com.

My wife and mother-in-law enjoyed the eggplant parmigiana at Sapori di Napoli in Decatur. It was the most unique eggplant parmigiana they had ever eaten and they can’t stop talking about it! They described the eggplant as being sliced razor thin, which gave the dish amazing texture, and they loved the rich, full-bodied tomato sauce. I would love to surprise them with this recipe. Any chance the fine folks at Sapori di Napoli would be willing to share it?! — Branden Johnson, Snellville

As it turns out, Sapori di Napoli chef and co-owner Ambrogio Florio was willing to share the recipe.

Florio and his brother Daniele were born in Naples. Their restaurant takes inspiration from meals they enjoyed in Agerola, a small town on the Amalfi Coast, where their father was raised.

This dish is one of the restaurant’s specialties. Eggplant, thinly sliced and then salted to draw out the bitterness, is fried and then layered with the restaurant’s tomato sauce, buffalo mozzarella, Parmigiano-Reggiano and fresh basil. We weren’t able to find buffalo mozzarella when we tested the recipe, so we used cow’s milk mozzarella. It was still delicious.

Sapori di Napoli is open Tuesday through Sunday with limited seating.

Is there a recipe from a metro Atlanta restaurant you’d like to make at home? Tell us and we’ll try to get it. We’ll also test it and adapt it for the home kitchen. Because of volume, we can’t answer all inquiries. Send your request, your address and phone number to fromthemenu@gmail.com and put “From the menu of ” and the name of the restaurant in the subject line.