Melanzane a Pasticcio in Padella
Stovetop eggplant with leftover ragù
Sliced eggplant layered with whatever ragù is left in the fridge, scamorza or mozzarella, and a little Parmigiano — built entirely in a pan on the stove, no oven required. A parmigiana in every way except the baking.
This is a Monday dish more than a Sunday one — the kind of thing that gets made specifically because there's a container of Sunday's ragù sitting in the fridge with nowhere left to go. Slice some eggplant, soften it in a pan instead of frying, layer it with the ragù and cheese, and put a lid on it. Twenty minutes later it's a meal — no oven, no waiting for anything to preheat, no extra pans to wash.
Think of it as a parmigiana that skipped the frying and the baking both: the eggplant softens gently in its own pan with a little water and oil rather than swimming in hot oil, and the whole thing finishes with residual heat and a lid rather than an oven's dry heat. What comes out is closer to a reversed lasagna than a classic parmigiana — looser, saucier, built for a weeknight rather than a holiday table.
A parmigiana that skips both the frying and the oven — built to use up Sunday's ragù before Tuesday.
The recipe
For two to three.
Melanzane a Pasticcio in Padella — layered eggplant, ragù, and melting cheese. Click to enlarge.
2Eggplants
250-300 gLeftover ragù
150 gSmoked scamorza or mozzarella, well-drained
To tasteGrated Parmigiano
To tasteExtra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper
To tasteBreadcrumbs
1
Wash and trim the eggplants, then slice lengthwise into thin rounds, about half a centimeter thick. To soften them without frying, place in a nonstick pan with a drizzle of oil, salt, and a splash of water, cover, and cook about 7–8 minutes. Set aside.
2
In a wide nonstick pan, spread a thin layer of ragù over the bottom. Add a first layer of eggplant, cover with more ragù, slices of scamorza, and a scattering of Parmigiano.
3
Keep layering — eggplant, ragù, cheese — until the ingredients run out, finishing with a layer of eggplant, the last of the ragù, plenty of cheese, and a dusting of breadcrumbs on top for a light crust.
4
Cover the pan and cook over low heat for 15–20 minutes, until the cheese has melted through and everything has come together.
A true svuotafrigo dish — scale the layers up or down to whatever ragù and eggplant you actually have.
Related
Ragù Napoletano
The Sunday sauce this dish is built to use up. See
the full recipe.
Parmigiana di Melanzane
The fried, baked original this stovetop version borrows from.
Buon appetito.
