Aubergine Parmigiana

Ingredients

• 3 large aubergines, sliced 1 cm thick
• 120 ml olive oil
• 2 tins of plum tomatoes
• 4 garlic cloves, sliced
• a big handful of basil
• 300 g mozzarella, torn and drained
• 100 g parmesan, grated
• salt, for the aubergines

Method

1. Salt the aubergines

   Layer the slices in a colander with salt and leave 30 minutes, then rinse and press them dry between cloths. Modern aubergines are rarely bitter, but this draws out water so they absorb far less oil — which is the real reason to do it.

   30 min

2. Grill rather than fry

   Brush the slices with oil and grill or griddle them until browned on both sides. Shallow-frying is traditional but they soak up an alarming amount of oil and the finished dish turns greasy.

   20 min

3. Make a thick sauce

   Warm the garlic in oil, crush in the tomatoes and simmer with half the basil until genuinely thick — thicker than a pasta sauce. Any wetness here ends up as a puddle at the bottom of the dish.

   25 min

4. Layer thinly

   Build up thin layers: sauce, aubergine, mozzarella, parmesan, basil, and repeat, finishing with sauce and parmesan. Thin layers with less filling than feels right is the trick — piled thick, it slumps when cut.

5. Bake

   Bake at 180°C until bubbling and deeply browned on top.

   40 min

6. Rest properly

   Rest at least 20 minutes, and it is arguably better warm than hot. Cut straight from the oven it collapses into a heap; rested, it holds a clean slice.

   20 min