Panino Alla Parmigiana - an Italian Delicious Recipe

Parmigiana di Melanzane (that mean “eggplant parmesan”) is a fabulous, unique and astounding dish, typical of Italian cuisine.

It’s composed by fried eggplant slice assembled in layers in a pan with tomato, mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese and basil. Upon all the layer are done, is finally baked in the oven where all the ingredients embrace together, and a gratin crust is formed with a stringy and tasty filling. A delicious for your mouth!!

A unique goodness with disputed origins, between Sicily, Campania (Naples) and Emilia Romagna (Bologna); whose name derives from the Sicilian word “Parmiciana” that are the wooden strips of the overlapping shutters, which recalls the layers of fried aubergines!

And why do not use this dish recipe to make a spectacular sandwich?

Follow this Parmigiana Recipe, with all the tips and step-by-step illustrations to make it really fast and you will bring a perfect Parmigiana to the table in no time! With compact but at the same time soft layers, with a delicious flavor, succulent and lightly greasy!

The most important step, the required ingredients!

• Eggplant
• Tomato puree
• Mozzarella cheese
• Parmesan
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Basil
• Garlic
• Salt
• Sugar
• Flour (“0” type)
• Peanut oil

We will use extra virgin olive oil for making a tasty tomato puree meanwhile the peanut oil it will be used to frying the eggplant slice. It’s possible to use different oil type to fry, but the peanut one is the best one because it has a high resistance to the heat and make possible a crunchy crust.

For a very Italian tomato puree sauce, you have to put some extra virgin olive oil into a high-sided pot, peel the garlic, cut in half and put it with the oil. Heat up a low-medium heat, leave to flavor for some minute and then add the tomato puree, basil, salt and a touch of sugar.

Now, put the heat at low and wait: the tomato puree needs to “pippare”, a term used in Italy to indicate the long time it takes the sauce to cook while it boils a low low heat (around 10-15 minutes). In this way, the sauce becomes thicker and tastier.

First, you have to heat up the peanut oil (I hate when the recipes tell you to heat something after all the preparation and then you have to wait with nothing to do!).

Put the oil in large pot with a flat bottom: the pot dimension is needed to be at least large enough to put two eggplant slices together. Put on low heat! You don’t want to rush for a smoke oil, but you want to reach the right temperature in the right manner!

Meanwhile the oil heats up, wash properly the eggplant, dry it and cut into slice with a width of 4-5 mm each. For the sandwich are require 4 slices, but you can make a few extra if (like me) you like to eat some bonus during the preparations! ;P

Once you cut the slices, put the flour in a plate (in a generous quantity) and flour both sides. Do it with dry slice and hands, so your flour will not get wet, making tedious grains.

It’s time to make these slice CRISPY!

Watch the oil temperature, which must be around 170°C (338 F). Do you not have a thermometer? No worries! Here a trick: dip the tip of a toothpick (and if you don't have them, use the back of a wooden ladle) into the oil, if you see a lot of little bubbles comes out, you have the right temperature to fry, if not, you have to wait more.

Perfect! Put into the hot-oil two eggplant slices, with caution! Wait until a homogeneous crispy layer is formed on the submerged side and then turn the slice. Once it done, remove slices from the oil and displace them onto towel paper, to remove the remaining extra oil.

Proceed with other slices (and if you have some more, salt one or two and taste it! After all, tasting the preparation is the basis to make good food!).

Tip and trick: wait to salt your fried dish until you will eat it! This helps to prevent that the crunchy fried layer becomes wet and flabby. In this way, your fried dish will remain crusty until you will serve it!

Now, all you must do is to cut into slice the mozzarella (5 mm each slice) and in half the bread.

Choose bread with a soft crumb and a slightly crunchy exterior. Remove some crumb from inside the bread to make room to the ingredients.

This is a very simple task, the time to fill your belly with this delight is almost always closer! Hold on and stay focused!

First, the bottom of the bread.

Then, add two or three tomato sauce spoon and cover well all the bread.

Add some parmesan, the rule is simple: the more it is, the tastier it is.

Insert your golden pepita, the fried eggplant slice! Use two of the four slices.

Make a mozzarella layer over the eggplant

And now, repeat! Eggplant slice, tomato sauce, parmesan, mozzarella cheese.

Finish all with covering the top part of your bread with other tomato sauce, add parmesan and close your sandwich. If you want some fresh flavor, add some basil leaves on the top layer.

Now is time to enjoy your Panino alla Parmigiana! A very Italian delicious food!

Tip and trick: put into the oven at 100-150°C (212-302 F) for some minutes, in this way your mozzarella cheese start to melt over the eggplant slice and making all the flavors more united and tasty!

Let me know if you will try this recipe and if you will like it!

Ciao e buon appetito!!