Roasted Eggplant Parmesan (Parmigiana di Melanzane)

A Sicilian version that soothes the soul ❤️

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'Ooooh, they have parmigiana di melanzane on the menu' said I, mouth watering, sounding somewhat surprised as if I hadn't eaten my favorite comfort food for months. Yet, on our recent two-week trip to our cousin's wedding in Sicily, I ordered my favorite dish at (almost) every restaurant we visited. To my delight, it was usually listed as an antipasto or first course, leaving plenty of room to indulge in other Sicilian delights from the menu.

Our Mom's eggplant parmesan was the stuff of legend - creamy breaded, fried slices of eggplant layered with her delicious tomato sauce and oozy mozzarella cheese. Growing up, there was a phase when Joey and I hated eggplant. We would devise ways that we could escape when our Mom made this dish - which she did often. We would have a friend invite us to dinner. We would try hiding the eggplant between the bowl and the plate (that didn't work out as planned). We unfortunately never had a dog. (Well, we did for 5 days - but that is a story for another day and a lot of therapy sessions.) Luckily our 'eggplant-hating' phase was short-lived. My love for our Mom's Italian-American version grew through the years - a dish that often waited for me on my trips home from college; a dish that soothed my soul.

Today, this dish is one of my true comfort foods. Therefore, it was no surprise that I ordered parmigiana di melanzane as much as possible during our recent trip in September. We oohed and ahhed over every version – some were saucier than others; some only topped with Pecorino, no mozzarella in sight- but one thing remained constant – no breading; just a perfect mouthwatering balance between eggplant, sauce, and cheese.

My soul is happy - parmigiana di melanzane at a restaurant in Modica, Sicily (note that there is no mozzarella is this version)

We mused over why our Sicilian mother only made the Italian-American version - floured, dipped in egg, and breaded. She never made the Sicilian version. The reason was perhaps simple - her mother who emigrated to the US in the early 1900s didn't like to cook. As a young widow raising 10 children during the Depression, she also had to work full-time as a seamstress in a blouse factory, leaving little time to cook. Our grandmother most likely never made this version so our mother must have learned only the classic Italian-American version. (According to Arthur Schwartz in his fantastic book, Naples at Table, this habit may have come from an old Amalfitano-Salernitano custom of layering eggplant that has been dipped in flour and egg and fried. )

Arthur also says that the first printed mention of parmigiana di melanzane was in 1765 in the first Neapolitan cookbook. The origin of its name is hotly debated (although most agree that it is not because it was named for the cheese nor originated in the Parma region of Italy.) Southern Italians claim ownership of this masterpiece and according to Italy Segreta, many believe that the dish was named after the Sicilian term, parmiciana, which refers to the 'little wooden strips that form window shutters' (also known as louvers) which the overlapping layers of eggplant resemble.

Back in the US, I wanted to recreate this lighter version at home and also to lighten it even further. I decided to try roasting the eggplant rather than frying. Bingo. For me, this is indeed heaven in a dish. Light. Creamy, Saucy, Cheesy. Oooh - it makes my heart sing 💛 I have now made this version at least a dozen times since I returned - and continue to tweak this dish to perfection. A few tips if you decide to make this recipe....

Salting the eggplant - a hotly, debated topic. Many cooks today skip this step (as I did for the first few times I made it.) Today's eggplants tend to have much less bitterness so it is not really necessary to salt the eggplant for this reason. However, what I did find is that the salt not only removes excess water from the eggplants but as a result, they absorb less oil when they are cooked making for a better texture in the dish. So I highly recommend salting ....you can make the sauce while the eggplants are doing their thing.

Keep the sauce simple so as not to overpower but rather complement the eggplant. I use a very simple slightly sweet sauce made of canned whole tomatoes with a touch of garlic and oregano. And don't be too heavy-handed with the salt in the sauce as the cheese will add salt to the dish as well.

The cheese - I like the saltiness from Pecorino Romano versus Parmigiano-Reggiano - but either works. As for the mozzarella, I have used freshly made mozzarella and it works great; however, I also love using higher-quality shredded mozzarella as I find it gives me better coverage over the eggplant.

Finally - balance. You are looking for a perfect harmony between eggplant, sauce, and cheese. Go light on the amount of sauce (unless you really do prefer it saucy). Let the creamy eggplant shine through.

I hope this dish soothes your soul as much as it does mine. Break open a bottle of red - make it a Sicilian this time - and enjoy 🍇. And do let us know if you give this recipe a try ...

Alla prossima,  

xx Michele ❤️

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Get the recipe on OurItalianTable.com!

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