Gary makes eggplant parmigiana.

Backstory

I’ve never made eggplant parmigiana before. I don’t think I’ve eaten eggplant parmigiana before. I know I’ve eaten chicken and veal parmigiana before, which probably reflects my primarily carnivorous mindset. 

I was at a work lunch recently, and a friend asked for a chicken parmigiana. When it arrived, it was bigger than my head (and I have a large noggin).

GC, my amazing Italian friend, has shared photos many times of eggplant parmigiana made by her hands. I asked about a recipe, and GC shared a blog post from Silvia Colloca, an Italian-born Australian opera singer, YouTube content creator, and TV celebrity.

When I visit Brisbane, SBS Food is often on the TV, and I’ve seen Silvia’s show many times and enjoyed the way she presents her food.

The blog post, while instructive, wasn’t written as a recipe per se, so I sought extra instruction from GC, which she generously shared.

So, armed with all the information I thought I needed, I went to Coles and purchased everything I needed.

Ingredients

• Eggplants—choose the girthy ones rather than the pencil-thin ones.
• Salt—If you’ve read my previous posts, you know why I always use iodised salt. Don’t believe the people who claim iodised salt is terrible for you. These individuals have no idea of what damage they are doing to society.  
• Vegetable oil—this is for frying the dry eggplant slices. I bought home-brand sunflower oil. I’d appreciate any guidance on whether readers feel this isn’t the best oil to use. I figure it has a higher vapour point than extra virgin olive oil, and I don’t want a bitter taste associated with overheating the oil.
• Mutti passata—I bought a 700-gram bottle as per GC’s advice.
• Garlic cloves—I bashed them and left the skins on. 
• Fresh basil—leaves and stems.
• Shallot—1 chopped finely.
• Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• Mozzarella cheese—GC recommended La Casa Del Formaggio as per GC’s advice.
• Parmigiano reggiano cheese
• Black peppercorns—For the most lively flavour on your tongue, I always try to grind the peppercorns just before adding them to a dish. 

Instructions

Eggplant

• Wash the eggplants (or aubergine—you fancy pants!) with tap water. You should wash all your vegetables to free them of dirt, potential pathogens, and to dilute potential toxic chemicals on the surface of your vegetables.
• With a sharp cook’s knife, slice the eggplants longitudinally. I did ask GC whether it would be best to cut circular discs; however, GC cuts along the long axis of the eggplant. Who am I to question the master!
• Layout the sliced eggplant on a tea towel, and then add a liberal amount of salt to each slice. Leave the pieces for about ten minutes, and then using a paper towel, wipe off the accumulated moisture and wet salt.
• Turn the slices over and repeat the salting and drying. The aim is to get your eggplant as dry as possible. You don’t want it moist. Frying wet food is dangerous, and you don’t want a problematic eggplant! This step also minimises any bitterness in your eggplant. After all, you want a nice dry eggplant with good taste and mouthfeel. I did watch a few YouTube videos of Italian cooks and chefs making eggplant parmigiana, and many of them sat weights on the slices to actively squeeze more water out. This eggplant squeezing looked like a lot of hard work.
• Some people suggest dusting the dry eggplant with flour. Some people even suggest dusting with flour and then dipping it into a beaten egg. GC doesn’t do this. So, I don’t do it.
• Heat the vegetable oil in a wok. Yes, I use a wok because a wok is safer for working with hot oil. I wouldn’t use a vertical side saucepan or skillet. When using this sort of cookware, hot oil can “climb” up the sides and results in more dangerous hot oil splatter. I’ve burnt myself too many times. 
• To test the temperature of the oil, drop a little bit of eggplant skin into the oil. If it bubbles on landing in the oil, you should be good to start.
• I took the time to measure the temperature so I’d know for next time. The temperature of the oil was 170 °C.
• Fry the eggplant slices in small batches to avoid the oil temperature falling, resulting in the eggplant absorbing oil rather than being fried quickly.
• When the eggplant slices are golden brown, remove them from the hot oil with chopsticks (after all, you’re cooking in a wok) and lay each piece onto an absorbent paper towel. Doing this will soak up excess oil.

Tomato sauce (Sugo)

• In a saucier pan (yes, okay, I’m fancy, I have an excellent saucier pan, you can use a saucepan or skillet), gently fry off the bashed garlic with the skin on, the chopped shallot, and the basil.
• Add in the bottle of passata and gently simmer for 20 minutes, stirring the sauce occasionally. 
• Set the sauce aside to cool.

Assembly of the eggplant parmigiana

• Heat your oven to about 200 °C.
• With a ladle, add some sauce to the bottom of a baking tray.
• Add a layer of eggplant on top of the sauce.
• Add thin slices of mozzarella on top of the eggplant.
• Repeat the layering until you have finished.
• Grate some Parmigiano Reggiano on top and place the baking tray into the oven for about 30 minutes.
• On completion, remove the baking tray from the oven and allow it to rest for about 15 minutes.

Plating up

• With a large serving spoon, cut out a portion on the eggplant parmigiana and place it on a warmed dinner plate.
• Serve with some freshly steamed green vegetables.
• Garnish with fresh basil.
• Season with freshly ground black pepper.

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Dessert idea

After 15 months, I returned yesterday to working as an honorary visiting medical officer (VMO). I do this clinical work once a week to keep my specialist registration as a pathologist (microbiologist). 

It was great being back in my natural habitat and surrounded by pathologists, medical laboratory scientists, and trainees (known as registrars*). I love the banter of being with my colleagues; we laugh, we joke, and we dive deep into enjoying the wonder of the interactions between pathogens and humans.

One of the new trainees recommended a vegan ice cream. Her husband is vegan and so she has adopted many of his food preferences. It sounded perfect, so for dessert (as well as afternoon tea), I had an affogato made with vegan ice cream and Atlas coffee.

Final thoughts

• Many posts I’ve read and YouTube videos I’ve watched suggest that leftover eggplant parmigiana tastes better than freshly cooked. I’ll let you know what I think in another post in the future.
• As far as I’m concerned this was delicious. I think I may have used a little too much salt on the eggplant because it was saltier than I’d anticipated.
• Have you made this dish before?
• What’s the best oil for frying eggplant slices?
• Would adding some slices of provolone cheese on the eggplant be inappropriate? I like the sharp bite of what has become one of my favourite cheeses (thanks, GC, for introducing me to all the great cheeses in life).
• Can you describe in the comments below how you cook this dish?
• I’ve heard some people say this is better than lasagna. Do you agree?
• My next food project is making lasagna. I’ve never done that before. 
• Shout out to best friends like GC who make life better and worthwhile. Praise God! 🙏

*a registrar is a (medical) doctor in training who is embarking on specialist training.