Parmigiana describes a classic Southern Italian dish made with shallow fried eggplant (aubergine) slices layered with cheese and tomato sauce and baked in an oven. This one is the Sicilian style but there is also a Lecce style, where eggplants are fried with eggs and flour, and with lots of delicious small fried meat balls.

My grandma was from Sicily, which is how I learned to make this dish! She used to prepare it in the summer and my cousins and I were able to polish off our plates in less than a couple of minutes!

The Sicilian style is less time consuming and also a bit lighter than the Lecce version, tho not less tasty. I will post the other one sometimes soon.

Ingredients:

• 3 big eggplants
• 400 g tomatoes
• 1/2 scamorza cheese
• Olive oil
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup onion
• Basil

In a skillet heat a couple tablespoon of olive oil and the chopped onion. Cook until the onion is soft.

Take one can of tomatoes

and dump it in. Add salt, cover with a lid and let simmer for about 30 min.

Meanwhile, wash and cut into slices the eggplants

Fry them in hot oil

Sprinkle some salt

Take your soft and milky scamorza and cut it into thin slices

Now we are ready to assemble our parmigiana!

Drop a few tbsp of tomato sauce in a baking tray

Lay down a layer of eggplant

Scamorza cheese

then more tomato sauce and grated parmesan cheese.

Cover with an other layer of eggplants and repeat with scamorza, tomato sauce and parmesan cheese.

Cover the top with a last layer of fried eggplant

Generously cover with tomato sauce, more Parmesan cheese, a few pieces f scamorza and basil leaves.

Bake at 180 C for about 30 min.

Take out of the oven and let cool down.