Pumpkin Parmigiana by gennaro contaldo
Parmigiana was traditionally made with aubergines in southern Italy where they grow
in abundance. However, you can make this layered baked dish with other
vegetables according to season. Whereas aubergines are abundant during the
summer, pumpkins are plentiful during the colder seasons. I like to coat the pumpkin
slices in egg (as I do with all other vegetables when making parmigiana) and fry
them, however if you prefer a lighter version, you could grill or roast the pumpkin
slices instead. I used Delica pumpkin, but you can use whichever you find and
popular butternut squash is good too. Mutti peeled tomatoes are ideal for making
the simple but delicious tomato sauce with all the scents and flavours of summery
tomatoes giving the dish a wonderful freshness.
Made with Whole peeled tomatoes
The Mutti Peeled Tomatoes are harvested at the height of the summer and are delicately peeled with steam, to capture all the flavour and scents of fresh tomatoes. Firm and fleshy, they are immersed in a creamy sauce. Peeled tomatoes are particularly versatile in the kitchen as you can use them in their sauce, whole or cut into pieces or slices, and are suitable for recipes requiring long and short cooking times. They are ideal for bringing out the best in traditional Mediterranean dishes and will become the main attraction in your Sunday meals.
Ingredients
-
1,4
kg
pumpkin
((approx. 1kg clean weight))
-
plain flour
(for dusting)
-
4
eggs
-
salt & pepper
-
vegetable oil
(for deep frying)
-
1
large ball
of mozzarella
(roughly chopped)
-
85
gr
grated Parmesan
for the tomato sauce
-
2
tablespoons
Extra virgin olive oil (Evo)
-
2
garlic cloves
(left whole and squashed)
-
3
tins
of Mutti Peeled Tomatoes
-
salt
-
handful of basil leaves
©Gennaro Contaldo
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©Gennaro Contaldo
Pumpkin Parmigiana by gennaro contaldo: Method
- First make the tomato sauce. Tip the Mutti Peeled Tomatoes into a bowl and squash the tomatoes with a fork to mash them up. Rinse the tins with a little water and add this to the tomatoes. Heat the evo in a pan over a medium heat, add the garlic and sweat for a minute, add the tomatoes, some salt to taste and half of the basil leaves. Leave to simmer over a gentle heat for about 25 minutes. Once cooked, discard the garlic cloves.
- Meanwhile, peel the pumpkin, cut in half, then into quarters, remove the seeds and cut into slices about 5 mm thick. Lightly beat the eggs in a shallow dish with a little salt & pepper. Dust the pumpkin slices in flour, shaking off the excess, then dip into the beaten egg.
- Heat abundant vegetable oil in a fairly deep-frying pan, when hot, add the pumpkin slices (you will have to do this in batches) and fry for a couple of minutes on each side, remove and drain on kitchen paper to absorb the excess oil.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (fan).
- Line an ovenproof dish with a little of the tomato sauce, then place some pumpkin slices over the top, scatter a few basil leaves, sprinkle with some grated Parmesan, dot around some mozzarella and top with a little more tomato sauce. Continue making layers like these until you have finished all the ingredients ending with mozzarella and grated Parmesan.
- Cover with foil and bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to bake for 15 minutes until the cheese has melted and taken on a golden-brown colour.
- Remove from the oven, leave to rest for about 10 minutes before serving.