Melanzane alla parmigiana

Before you start

• an oven
• about 1h45 — the aubergines are salted and drained first
• it is better warm than straight out of the oven; give it 15 minutes

Ingredients

Serves 4 · dimmer marks are storecupboard

• 900gaubergines — three large ones, firm and glossy
• 6 tbspolive oil
• 250gbuffalo mozzarella
• 60gparmesan
• 2 tinstinned tomatoes
• 2garlic cloves
• 1 large bunchbasil
• to tastesalt

Method

7 steps

1. chop · 8m

   Aubergines sliced lengthways about a centimetre thick, laid out and salted on both sides.

2. rest · 30m walk away

   Left in a colander with a plate on top. The brown water that comes out is the water that would otherwise turn the finished tray to soup, and salting also stops the slices drinking oil like a sponge.

3. simmer · 25m

   Garlic softened in a spoon of the oil, tomatoes crushed in and cooked down slowly until thick and dark and no longer tasting raw. Half the basil in at the end.

4. roast · 25m walk away

   Slices rinsed, pressed dry between cloths, brushed with the rest of the oil and roasted at 220°C in a single layer, turned once, until they are floppy and browned at the edges. Roasting rather than frying uses a third of the oil and gives a cleaner result.

5. fold · 10m

   Layered in a dish: sauce, aubergine, torn mozzarella, parmesan, basil, and round again three times, finishing with sauce and parmesan. Each layer thin — a thick one never sets and the slice falls apart.

6. roast · 30m walk away

   At 190°C until the top is brown and the sides are bubbling gently.

7. rest · 15m walk away

   Out and left alone for a quarter of an hour. It firms up as it cools and only then cuts into squares.