9245 Melanzane alla Parmigiana recipe

This is a classic one:

[url=http://www.theworldwidegourmet.com/vegetables/eggplant/melanzane.htm]Eggplant Parmigiana - Melanzane alla parmigiana, Italian recipe on The Worldwide Gourmet[/url]

I have a more complicated one called "Parmigiana di Melanzane alla Calabrese". Do you also want it?

[SIZE="2"]A Sicilian friend just introduced me to an UNBAKED version of epplant parmesan, and I posted it on my blog[URL="http://www.expatsinitaly.com/blog/barb/2008/02/unbaked-eggplant-parmesan.html"] [B][COLOR="black"]HERE[/COLOR][/B][/URL]. Altho I've already made it a few times, I think it'll be really great in the summer months. I'm also planning to do some tweaking, and maybe add some mozzarella the next time.[/SIZE]

[quote=Gala Placidia;86965]This is a classic one:

[url=http://www.theworldwidegourmet.com/vegetables/eggplant/melanzane.htm]Eggplant Parmigiana - Melanzane alla parmigiana, Italian recipe on The Worldwide Gourmet[/url]

I have a more complicated one called "Parmigiana di Melanzane alla Calabrese". Do you also want it?[/quote]

Yes please, thanks.

Well, here we go. I am translating from my notes in Spanish

PARMIGIANA DI MELANZANE ALLA CALABRESE

INGREDIENTS:

2 kg aubergine , thinly sliced
salt
a bit of flour
extra virgin olive oil to fry
500 gr ripe tomatoes peeled, sedled and pureed
chopped basil (about 12-12 leaves depending on size... you can also use dried)
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
200 gr lean minced veal or beef
2 hard boiled eggs, sliced
3 whole eggs
3 tablespoons breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
200 gr Cacciocavallo cheese cut into thin slices
100 gr fresh sausage, thinly sliced
150 gr grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

PREPARATION:

Take a large colander and put in the aubergine slices. Sprinkle with salt. Allow to drain for half an hour.
Coat the aubergine slices with the flour and fry until golden in colour.
Allow to drain using some kitchen towel paper.
Heat a bit of oil in a saucepan, add the tomatoes, basil and balsamic vinegar and
allow to reduce and thicken. Condiment with salt and pepper.
In a glass bowl, mix the minced meat, 3 eggs, breadcrumbs, parsley and some salt and pepper. Make some meatballs with the mixture and fry them in oil.
Preheat the oven to 200 C
In a large oven dish, put a thin layer of tomato sauce and add a layer of aubergine slices (half of the amount you have). Sprinkle with some Parmesan and add a layer using the meatballs, sliced eggs, sausages and and cheese. Pour a bit of tomato sauce on top and then cover with another layer of aubergine slices. Cover the lot with the remaining tomato sauce and some grated cheese on top.
Bake for approximately 30 minutes, until the grated cheese makes a golden crust.
Enjoy!

Sorry to sound really thick, but do you slice the aubergines lengthways or into circles?

I generally slice them into circles: however, for certain dishes such as a "terrine" which needs to be lined with aubergines y do it lengthways. Basically, there is no difference.

Oh! I forgot. Just in case someone is not very familiar with Cacciocavallo cheese, here is some information about it:

[url=http://www.emarkys.com/caviar/customer/product.php?productid=16988&cat=606&page=5]Italian Cheese Cacciocavallo Silano DOP 5 lb. Order online.[/url]

Goodness J&C you dont sound thick!, we are all open to ideas here, perhaps if you really wanted to you could cube it?, Gala just has the most wonderful recipes but I am sure they are all adaptable to your own interpretation.
A

[quote=Gala Placidia;87001]PARMIGIANA DI MELANZANE ALLA CALABRESE
[/quote]
Thanks for that. My carnivorous partner claimed to like the version of the recipe that uses only aubergine, tomato and cheese well enough, but I'm sure she'll enjoy your version even more.
[quote=Angie and Robert;87044]Goodness J&C you dont sound thick!, we are all open to ideas here, perhaps if you really wanted to you could cube it?[/quote]
I didn't think that "lengthwise or widthwise" was a daft question either.

As it happens, I encountered problems last summer with a couple of aubergines because when I fried them, the flesh split along the lines where the seeds would have developed if the fruit had been left to mature. Since I had sliced those fruits along their length, I ended up with ribbons of fried, floured aubergine which were difficult to handle. I think I wouldn't have had the problem if I'd done a cross-sectional cut.

I wondered at the time if the aubergine had been left on the vine a little too long. Or maybe it was the variety of the plant, the drought or the phase of the moon. Absolutely certain it [I]couldn't[/I] have been my technique. :bigergrin:

Not that it really mattered all that much: the finished product tasted nice enough. :smile:

Cubed is a good idea, I think.

[quote=Lisa C.;87047]Does anyone have any favorite Italian appetizer recipes you would like to share? We are having an Italian wine tasting next week and would really like a good recipe to pair the wine with. It could be as varied as Chianti to Barolo or Verdicchio to Pino Grigio.[/quote]

Well, I would suggest a variety of small "crostini" or toasted bread with a variety of toppings, such as halved cherry tomatoes, mozzarella and basil leaves, or rocket lettuce, salmon, capers and sour cream sprinkled with fennel, or a bit of leftover parmigiana di melanzane if you have any left, or tinned sardines, mozzarella and cherry tomatoes, or quartered artichoke hearts and salami, or Parma ham and slivers of Parmesan cheese on top, or gorgonzola "dolce" and sliced champignons, or mortadella and slivers of Parmesan cheese. Or you can make mini-pizzas, any variety. Some olives or aubergines in oil to accompany. Enjoy!

Gala's suggestions had my mouth watering. Here's something easy to prepare and looks good. Take as many sprigs of Rosemary as you can bear to thread with a tiny ball of Mozarella and a cherry tomato. The sprig needs to be about the length of a biro. You strip about half the leaves off so that moz and tom can thread easily onto the woody stalk. Pretty and nothing to clear up.