Sophie says: “Believe it or not, it’s this recipe that got my publisher, Céline, excited about me. So, for that, and the fact that this is, hands down, one of the tastiest recipes I’ve ever written – thank you. It’s your classic Parmigiana: layers of meltingly soft aubergine, rich tomato sauce and all the mozzarella, with a spicy porky twist.”

Serves 4

Takes 1 hour 45 minutes

Ingredients

2 banana shallots
4 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
3 large or 4 small aubergines (eggplants)
100–125g (3½–4½oz) ’nduja (depending on how spicy you like it)
4 fat garlic cloves
large handful of basil
2 tablespoons tomato paste (concentrated purée)
2 x 400g (14oz) tins plum tomatoes
big pinch of caster (superfine) sugar (optional)
250g (9oz) buffalo mozzarella
50–75g (1¾–2¾oz) parmesan
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Tip:

The Parmigiana can be happily assembled the day before and kept in the fridge, then baked the next day.

Veggie?

Leave out the ’nduja and sub for 1–2 teaspoons chilli flakes and 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar instead, and sub the parmesan for a veggie alternative.

Method

Preheat your oven to 200°C/180°C fan/400°F/gas mark 6.

Finely chop the shallots. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a saucepan over a medium heat. Add the shallots and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, for six–eight minutes until softened but not coloured.

Meanwhile slice the aubergines lengthways into long 5mm (¼ inch) slices. Put into a large bowl, sprinkle with salt and toss together.

Add the ’nduja to the shallots, using the back of your spoon to break it down. Once ‘melted’, finely chop the garlic cloves and finely slice the basil stalks. Add both to the pan and cook for 1 minute, then stir in the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute more.

Tip in the plum tomatoes. Half-fill one of the tins with water and add this too. Roughly break up the tomatoes with your spoon, then leave the sauce to slowly cook away for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, pour away any liquid that has collected at the bottom of the aubergine bowl, then toss the aubergines with the remaining three tablespoons olive oil.

Heat a large frying pan over a high heat. Fry the aubergine slices in batches until golden and charred on both sides; this will take around five minutes for each batch. Transfer to a plate and continue until all the aubergine slices have been fried.

Returning to the sauce, season it to taste, adding a pinch of sugar if needed. Take off the heat. Pick the basil leaves.

Assembly time! I like to do four layers. Spread a spoonful of the tomato sauce across the bottom of a 20 × 30cm (8 × 12 inch) baking dish. Top with a layer of aubergine slices, using about a quarter of them, followed by about a quarter of the remaining sauce. Scatter over about a quarter of the basil leaves and tear over about a quarter of the mozzarella. Grate a layer of parmesan over the top, using a bit less than a quarter here. Repeat this layering three more times, making the last layer of parmesan really thick – this will give you a nice golden crust when baked.

Drizzle with a little olive oil, then bake for 25–30 minutes until deeply golden and bubbling around the sides.

Leave to cool for five minutes (an unbearable wait) before digging in. Serve with the Shallot & Caper Salad. Mind-blowing.

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