| Ms. Eggplant parmigiana! Here we are with one of the most tasty Italian dishes: the princess of the Italian tables. It is a more elaborated dish and will take you some time, but I assure you, it worths it! First of all, it's important to know a little bit more about eggplants. The best ones are the seasonal ones (they come in Summertime), as they have less water inside and absorb less oil. I know, nowadays it’s quite difficult to find seasonal things and… maybe you want to cook them now! So, choose the smaller ones. The bigger the more spongy they’ll be. The purple ones use to be better too. But if you cannot find them, don’t worry. You’ll eat a good dish the same! There’s a trick Italian housewives do to take out the sour taste of the eggplant. Wash them and cut them in slices (for this recipe we’ll need them in slices) and salt them. Put them inside a colander inside your kitchen sink and leave them there for an hour or less. Please, don’t keep the attention on the watch for the time. If you have to go out do it before going out and they’ll be ready when you’ll be back. There’s no severe rules about it.You’ll see that it will release a dark liquid.
Ingredients (4 people):
• About 5 medium eggplants
• Some wheat flour (some put in a plate)
• Salt
• Mozzarella (Italian one should be better)
•
Grated Grana Padano cheese
• Oil to fry (I use extra virgin olive oil here – it’s tasty and healthier)
•
Italian tomato sauce
How to do it:
Take the slices of the eggplant and put them inside the plate that contains the wheat, one at a time, to cover them with the wheat (you can add some salt to the wheat, but pay attention because you had already salted the slices, even if they have lost some salt with the water).Then put the oil inside a frying pan and begin to fry the slices both sides. Put them on an absorbing paper while taking them out of the pan. The eggplant parmigiana can be done using grilled eggplant, if you prefer not to fry. After finishing with all the slices, take an oven pan and begin spreading some tomato sauce as a first layer, following with a layer of eggplant slices, pieces of mozzarella, tomato sauce, grated cheese and again eggplant slices, until finishing with tomato sauce and grated cheese. Put it into a warmed oven (about 180°C) for about 30/40 minutes. Well, it’s done! Enjoy and buon appetito! | 
