Parmigiana di Melanzane

Ingredients

• 1.5kg long aubergines
• 800g tomato passata
• 1 garlic clove
• 400g fiordilatte mozzarella
• 100g grated Parmigiano Reggiano
• A large bunch of basil
• 600ml sunflower oil, for frying
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and black pepper

Before you cook

• Slice the aubergines lengthways about 6mm thick.
• Layer the slices in a colander with salt between them and leave them to drain for one hour under a weighted plate.
• Dice the mozzarella and drain it in a sieve for at least an hour.
• Pick the basil leaves from their stalks.

Steps

1. Warm the extra virgin olive oil in a pan with the whole garlic clove over a low heat for two minutes.
2. Pour in the passata, season it with salt, and simmer gently for 25 minutes until slightly thickened.
3. Take the sauce off the heat, lift out the garlic, and stir in a few basil leaves.
4. Rinse the aubergine slices and squeeze each one dry between your palms.
5. Pat the slices completely dry with a cloth.
6. Heat the sunflower oil in a deep pan to 175 degrees Celsius.
7. Fry the slices in batches for about two minutes a side, until golden and floppy.
8. Drain each batch on kitchen paper, standing the slices upright so the oil runs off.
9. Heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
10. Spread a thin layer of sauce over the base of a 25cm by 20cm baking dish.
11. Lay in a close-fitting layer of aubergine slices, overlapping them slightly.
12. Spoon over more sauce, then scatter on some mozzarella, a handful of Parmigiano and a few torn basil leaves.
13. Build three or four more layers in the same way, finishing with aubergine.
14. Cover the top with the last of the sauce and all the remaining Parmigiano.
15. Bake for 40 minutes, until the surface is blistered and the edges are bubbling.
16. Rest the parmigiana out of the oven for at least an hour before cutting, so the layers set into slices.