Lisbon from Home #9: Parmigiana di Melanzane
Tasty way to use your isolation - now you have the time.
The first mention of something resembling an eggplant parmesan is from Il saporetto by Simone Prudenzani (1387-1440), where the recipe refers to parmigiano cheese. Prudenzani was from Orvieto and his Il saporetto is a rhyming poem about food and not a cookbook. But foods are mentioned including parmisciana.
The eighteenth-century Neapolitan chef Vincenzo Corrado mentions in his book Il cuoco galante published in 1786, that eggplant can be cooked alla Parmegiana, meaning the eggplant was seasoned with butter, herbs, cinnamon and other spices and grated parmigiano cheese and covered with a cream sauce made with egg yolks before being oven-baked.
The eighteenth-century Neapolitan chef Vincenzo Corrado mentions in his book Il cuoco galante published in 1786, that eggplant can be cooked alla Parmegiana, meaning the eggplant was seasoned with butter, herbs, cinnamon and other spices and grated parmigiano cheese and covered with a cream sauce made with egg yolks before being oven-baked.
What has this Italian dish to do with Lisbon?
Forgot to take a picture of the servings when I made it a few days ago. So I had to take a second time – hence the dirty plate. This is the texture I prefer. It’s juicy and wet and at the same time it has a presentable texture that is easy to ‘cut’.
Except for all the ingredients that are from within 100 meter from our door, that it’s one of my ideas for our menu at Tings Tea Lounge that opens in 2021 and that its made from the top of Tings with Rio Tejo View – this has nothing to do with Lisbon!
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The big discussion among Italian food lovers is whether Parmigiani di Melanzane origins from Naples, Parma or Sicily.
But what all agrees on is that the original ingredients in this amazing dish are eggplants, tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, parmigiano cheese, basil, and hard-boiled egg slices layered in a casserole and baked in the oven.
My recipe has the all the ingredients but maybe used and prepared differently compared to the others. As most of the dishes I make – the way I cook my Parmigiani di Melanzane is a mix of ideas & elements I copy/paste from various articles, cookbook along the way. Or steal from my friend and food freak Ingrid. At one point it becomes ‘my’ recipe because it works for me and ends up with the best result according to my taste and food ethics. It’s as simple as that.
The two major differences in my way of making Parmigiani di Melanzane are:
- The Aubergines:
When I have access to a grill I roast the Aubergine slices on high heat without using oil. It adds and amazing umami taste gives and keep the slices juicy without being wet (if you don’t have a grill you have to salt the slices and keep the under pressure for at least 2 hours – SORRY cheating here is like cheating in Solitaire).Then I fry the drained Aubergine slices in an egg & flour+grated parmigiano batter.
- The Tomato Sauce:
I make a ‘standard’ tomato sauce from fresh tomatoes, onion, garlic, basil, salt & pepper, chilli, and of course a good Balsamic Olive oil BUT I reduce the sauce half the volume compared to the one I use for Pasta. It takes longer time to make BUT the final result is more tasty and the texture fantastic.I usually make the sauce the day before so it ‘settles’ and get the right taste (and texture). And always make plenty and use the leftover for pasta, pizza or in other tomato dishes.
Its very easy to make a tasty Parmigiani di Melanzane.
Don’t let the recipes you find frighten you. It’s very, very easy to make. The dish consists of 3 elements only: Parmigiani Cheese, Eggplants and Tomato Sauce.
Of course your skills means something – but as is all other dishes the biggest part of the final result comes from the ingredients you use. By using the best quality and local & seasonal only will take you far. You can’t fail this one.
Except for the Parmigiani (which is impossible to get locally in the quality I prefer) all other ingredients are from within 100 meter from our door: Snr. Francisco’s small grocery in Travessa do Monte and Snr. Victor’s Meu Super in Rua de S. Gens. It’s important for us to support the locals – especially in these difficult Covid Days. So together with our butcher Luis e Edgar we shop here almost every day (like we have done the previous 6 years) – if you are accepted you get access to the Portuguese parallel assortment with some of the best products in the country… nudge nudge, know whatahmean, say no more 🙂
Here is my recipe – hope you like it,
Bon Appetit
Thomas
The recipe
NOTE:
I never use ‘amount’ / units etc for the ingredients – just play-it-by-ear. And I have not included my Tomato Sauce recipe – with the right tomatoes things can’t go wrong.