Eggplant parmigiana

Prepare a tomato sauce. In a pot, sauté the chopped onion in extra virgin olive oil.

Add the tomato passata, a glass of water, a basil leaf, season with salt and cook for forty minutes with the lid slightly open.

Cut the eggplants into thin slices lengthwise and place them little by little in a colander with a pinch of salt. In this way they will lose some of their water.

When you have cut them all, in a large pan bring the peanut oil to temperature (160°) and fry the eggplants a few at a time.

As soon as they are fried, drain them on a sheet of paper towel, patting them with another sheet.

After draining them on the paper towel and patting them dry, transfer them to a large bowl in which you have placed an upside-down deep plate. Arrange the eggplants on the upside-down side of the plate toward the bottom of the bowl.

The eggplants will thus be sloped and the excess oil will fall to the bottom of the bowl. Cover by placing another plate on top to weigh it down. If you can, let them rest for at least an hour or even overnight in the refrigerator so all the oil will drain away.

Cut the fior di latte (from the day before, dried in the refrigerator) into slices or pieces.

A family trick from the old Neapolitan recipe: beat an egg and set it aside. You will need it later in the preparation.

Now you can assemble the eggplant parmigiana. Pour a few spoonfuls of sauce on the bottom of the baking dish. Make a layer of eggplants, one of fior di latte, add tomato sauce and Parmesan.

Finish with a little beaten egg poured in with a spoon in a rough way. Proceed until the ingredients are used up.

Finish with a layer of just eggplants, tomato sauce, plenty of Parmesan, basil and a few spoonfuls of egg. The egg helps bind everything together and forms an exceptional crust on the surface.

Bake in a hot fan oven at 180 degrees for 30 minutes. Let rest at least 10 minutes before cutting it.

Tips: eggplant parmigiana keeps for three days in the refrigerator. Just bring it to room temperature before serving. You can eat it hot, warm or even cold, but in this case the fior di latte will not be stringy.

I recommend eating it warm, at a temperature where the fior di latte is still melted and soft.