EGGPLANT PARMIGIANO: A DISH THAT ENDURES

Eggplant Parmigiano.

Eggplant Parmigiano is a dish that behaves like a side but eats like a main—vegetarian, generous, deeply satisfying, and completely uninterested in being “lightened” into submission. This is Italian cooking at its most honest: fried slices layered with tomato, basil, and just enough cheese to bind everything together. No theatrics. No shortcuts. No apologies.

This Eggplant Parmigiano comes from Letizia Mattiacci…

A cookbook author and cooking teacher whose work I’ve admired for years, and whose kitchen I came to know not by chance but through family. Letizia was introduced to me by my Italian family, and my Italian brother, Edoardo, is her husband’s physician. It’s a connection that makes this re-issue feel personal in the best sense of the word—grounded, honest, and respectful of time.

When I first wrote about Letizia, her work was rooted in Umbria, where she and her husband had restored a farmhouse near Assisi and welcomed guests into what became the beloved agriturismo and cooking school Madonna del Piatto. It was a life built around land, seasons, teaching, and generosity. Some years ago, that life was irrevocably altered when Letizia’s husband suffered a devastating stroke. The change was profound, and it required leaving Umbria behind.

What matters—and what endures—is that Letizia did not stop. 

Today, she continues her work in Rome, where Madonnadel Piatto lives on through intimate cooking classes, writing, and teaching that reflect more than twenty years devoted to Italian home cooking, rural traditions, food quality, and sustainability. She is the author of A Kitchen with a View, mentioned in The New York Times, and Festa Italiana, a joyful collection of recipes inspired by Italy’s festivals and traditions. Her work has been featured by The New York Times, National Geographic, Food & Wine, and the BBC—not because it chases trends, but because it honors them only when they deserve it.

Eggplant Parmigiano.

This is a dish that behaves like a side but eats like a main—vegetarian, generous, deeply satisfying, and completely uninterested in being “lightened” into submission. This is Italian cooking at its most honest: fried slices layered with tomato, basil, and just enough cheese to bind everything together. No theatrics. No shortcuts. No apologies.

You can learn more about Letizia, her cooking philosophy, her cooking classes in Rome and her recipes at Madonna del Piatto:
https://madonnadelpiatto.com

Below is Letizia’s recipe for Eggplant Parmigiana, in her own words—because some things don’t need improving, only preserving.

Eggplant Parmigiana

Recipe from Letizia Mattiacci and here it is in all its glory and in Letizia’s own words.

I’m biting my nails here because I have so many things to tell you, and if I don’t make a selection, I’ll probably never get to the recipe. First of all, the name. Parmigiana literally means “from Parma”. However, this recipe has been known as a tradition in Naples and Sicily since the early 19th century. Food historians have not come up with a conclusive explanation of why an iconic Southern dish has a Northern name. Some say that preparing vegetables alla parmigiana – i.e. in the way of Parma – refers to the use of layers interspersed with cheese and baked.

In origin, the eggplant parmigiana must not have included Parmesan cheese which is now a standard ingredient. The Southerners used pecorino, provolone, caciocavallo, or mozzarella.

Who knows, maybe the people from Parma invented the method, and the Southerners adapted it to local ingredients. I have included this dish in the list of Italy’s most mistreated foods. Too often, I see impossibly fat recipes oozing cheap cheese, heavy bread-crumb coating and drowning in industrial amounts of oil. A gastroenterologist’s nightmare. On the other hand, I lost count of absurd adaptations to make it “light”.

I admit it, it’s not a low-cal dish—but if one wants dessert, one has to have some sugar, right? So what’s the sense in using all sorts of alternatives that will taste and look like something else?

Eggplant parmigiana is a dish of fried eggplants baked with a little cheese and tomato sauce. That’s it—simple, vegetarian, and fantastic if properly prepared.

Eggplant Parmigiano

January 9, 2026

Servings: 8

Difficulty: Not nearly as complicated as it looks

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Eggplant Parmigiano—Melanzane alla Parmigiana if we’re being properly Italian—is the dish that is southern Italy’s greatest hit: layers of silky eggplant, tomato sauce that tastes like summer, mozzarella for stretch, Parmigiano-Reggiano for gravitas, and just enough basil to remind you why Italians don’t overthink things.

By: Monte Mathews

Ingredients

• 2 large eggplants
• 300 g / 8 oz fresh mozzarella, sliced
• 1 × 400 g / 12 oz tin peeled or diced San Marzano tomatoes
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 4 tablespoons grated Parmesan
• 10–12 fresh basil leaves

Directions

• Step 1 For the Eggplants:
• Step 2 Prepare and fry the eggplants as explained here:
• Step 3 https://madonnadelpiatto.com/2009/10/14/im-going-eggplant/
• Step 4 Place in a colander for a few hours or possibly overnight to get rid of excess oil. Grilled eggplants are often too dry, but if you don’t want to fry them, blanching before grilling helps keep them moist.
• Step 5 For the Sauce:
• Step 6 Heat 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil in a pan, add the onion, cover, and sauté over low heat until translucent. Stir in the tinned tomato and a sprig of basil, cover again, and cook for approximately 10 minutes. Season lightly with salt and black pepper. To assemble the dish: Preheat oven to 180°C / 350°F. Spread two tablespoons of sauce on the bottom of an ovenproof pan. Cover with a single layer of eggplant slices. Top with mozzarella, 2–3 basil leaves, 1 tablespoon of Parmesan, and 2–3 tablespoons of sauce.
• Step 7 Continue layering until all ingredients are used, finishing with a layer of eggplant, sauce, and Parmesan.Bake for 30 minutes until golden and bubbly. Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before serving—it’s actually best at room temperature. In summer, we enjoy it as a vegetarian main with crusty bread to mop up the gorgeous juices.

Here are some more Favorite Italian Recipes on Chewing The Fat…including Letizia’s Italian Sausage with Fennel, Zucchini and Raisins…

Italian Sausage with Fennel, Zucchini and Raisins adapted from Letizia Mattiaci of Alla Madonna del Piatto

From my Italian sister, who, along with my brother Edoardo, introduced me to Letizia Mattiaci

Sofia Minciotti’s Polpettone in Crosta: Italian for Meatloaf

And what collection of Italian recipes would be complete without Marcella Hazan?

A TREASURY OF MARCELLA HAZAN RECIPES AND HER 5 TOP COOKING TIPS.