Let summer linger a little longer with this Sicilian inspired dish. Lucky enough to taste authentic parmigiana cooked by my new brother-in-law’s grandmother in Sicily this summer, I knew it was ‘the’ one dish of the many, many amazing dishes cooked for us that I most wanted to try. As part of the Italian way of eating it was a course that featured after anti-pasti but before meat and salad and rounded off with fresh fruit. A meal that you can imagine called for much lingering, lively conversation and immense hospitality.
Returned to the damp patch that is Eire and thrust into a churning schedule of work,school, sport etc. time for lingering is limited so I’ve added meat to the parmigiana so it can feature as a substantial stand alone dish, one which now gives a distinct nod towards Greek moussaka too. As parmesan can prove to be quite expensive feel free to substitute the cheese.
Lamb Parmigiana
Serves 6
You will need:
Olive oil or rapeseed oil (for frying and drizzling)
500g minced lamb
1 medium onion
2 cloves garlic
2 tsp dried oregano
2 x 400g tinned chopped tomatoes
2 aubergines
50g parmesan (about half a regular sized wedge)
Method:
Pre-heat the fan oven to 180C / Gas Mark 6
(You will be layering the meat and aubergine in a baking dish once prepared)
Heat a tbsp of oil in a large pan over a medium heat and brown the mince.
Finely chop the onion, peel and crush the garlic.
Push the browned mince to the side of the pan and add the chopped onion to the centre and allow to soften for a few minutes, then add the garlic and cook for a further minute before stirring in the oregano and chopped tomatoes. Leave to simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Heat a tbsp of oil in another large frying pan/ griddle pan over a medium heat.
Cut the aubergines into 1cm thick round slices and slightly brown the slices on both sides drizzling over extra oil so that they soften a little as they cook. Once browned remove to a plate. You may need to do this in a couple of batches.
Layer meat then aubergine slices topped with grated parmesan into a baking dish and repeat finishing with a generous topping of grated parmesan.
Bake in the hot oven until the cheese has melted and the meat is bubbling up underneath the aubergines (15 minutes)
Enjoy with some crusty bread.
Til next time Sheila