Photo by Fotolia/minadezhda
The gypsies enjoyed the local rural life of Italy and enriched it with their new vegetable, the eggplant.
Ingredients
- 6 large ‘Prosperosa’ eggplants
- 10 anchovy fillets (optional)
- 1 cup of ‘Genovese’ basil
- 1 dozen pitted black olives
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- Mozzarella cheese
- 3 eggs
- Flour
- Salt
- First cold press olive oil
- Frying oil
Directions
- Wash the eggplants, remove the stems and cut 1/4-inch slices without peeling. Sprinkle salt and let soak for one hour. Then wash and let drain on paper towels.
- In a mortar, prepare a paste with the basil, the olives and the oregano, adding a trickle of olive oil and some salt. Optional: crush in the anchovy filets after soaking them in cold water for one hour to remove the salt.
- Pass the eggplant slices in the beaten eggs and then in the flour and deep fry. Let them drain on paper towels and place in the gratin dish: on top of each fried eggplant slice, place a nut of the olive paste and a thin slice of mozzarella.
- Put in pre-heated oven at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 6 to 8 minutes.
- Remove from oven and serve when the mozzarella has melted.
