Parmigiana di melanzane
Parmigiana di melanzane
A southern Italian vegetable dish of fried eggplant layered with tomato sauce and cheeses such as mozzarella, then baked. It is registered on Italy's Ministry of Agriculture list of traditional foods as a specialty of Calabria, Campania, Puglia and Sicily. The name's origin is debated: some dictionaries explain it as "Parma-style," meaning vegetables cooked layered, while others trace it to Parmigiano.
Southern Italy (the exact origin is unsettled among Puglia, Campania, Calabria and Sicily)
Naples — An early form appears in 18th-century Corrado, and Cavalcanti (1837) gives the first recipe close to the modern one
Main ingredients
- Eggplant
- Tomato passata
- Mozzarella (also scamorza, caciocavallo)
- Parmigiano Reggiano
- Basil
- Garlic
- Olive oil
How it goes
These are the bones of the method. Quantities and detail live in the sources.
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Fry the eggplant
Slice the eggplant thin, fry in oil, and drain off the excess oil.
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Make the tomato sauce
Simmer a simple sauce of garlic and passata.
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Build the layers
In a baking dish, repeat layers of eggplant, tomato sauce, cheese and basil.
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Bake
Bake until the top is browned and the cheese has melted.
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Let it rest
Let it sit briefly after baking so the layers settle.
Pasta it follows
Why it works
Pasta al LimoneThe regions align and so does the order of weight. A light lemon primo from the same Campania first, then rising to the rich, cheese-laden fried eggplant secondo that follows. 
Pesto alla trapaneseSicily is one of the regions that claims parmigiana's origin, so the regional lineage overlaps. An uncooked pesto keeps trapanese light as a primo, so the order into a heavier, baked secondo still holds. 
Orecchiette con le cime di rapaPuglia is also a candidate origin, linking the regions. A vegetable-only, light primo, so it moves into the richness of the secondo without layering on tomato or cheese beforehand. 
La Genovese napoletanaThe regions align as both are Neapolitan dishes. Genovese is an onion sauce made without tomato, so its flavor doesn't overlap with tomato-forward parmigiana, a classic sequence on a Neapolitan table.