What I cook at home
Paccheri parmigiana
Pasta Parmigiana: A Lazy Twist on a Classic
Sometimes, the best dishes come from pure laziness. That’s exactly how my Pasta Parmigiana was born. My boyfriend had a craving for Parmigiana di Melanzane, but if you’ve ever made it from scratch, you know it’s a bit of a mission—frying the aubergines, layering everything, baking it to perfection… I just wasn’t in the mood. But I did have an aubergine sitting in the fridge, and he challenged me to come up with something new. Challenge accepted.
The Idea: Parmigiana Meets Pasta
Instead of going through the whole frying and layering process, I thought: why not deconstruct it and turn it into a pasta dish? That way, we’d still get all the flavors of parmigiana but in a quicker, fuss-free way.
The Ingredients
This dish keeps things simple, using:
One aubergine, diced
Olive oil
One garlic clove
Tomato passata
Basil
Salt & pepper
Pasta of choice (I used paccheri, should be a big shaped pasta and served al dente)
Grated mozzarella, placed at the end on the hot pasta (so that it melts)
Parmesan, grated
How I Made It
Aubergine in the pan – Instead of deep frying, I diced the aubergine and fried it in a pan with olive oil (from my home-town) and salted until golden and soft. This keeps things lighter but still gives that rich flavor.
Making the Sauce – In a pan, I sautéed garlic in olive oil, added the passata, and let it simmer with salt, pepper, and fresh basil.
Cooking the Pasta – I boiled the pasta until just al dente and then tossed it straight into the sauce, along with the aubergines and tomato sauce.
The Final Touch – On the hot plated pasta, I sprinkled some mozzarella, letting it melt slightly, and topped everything with plenty of grated Parmesan.
The Verdict
Let’s just say my boyfriend sent a voice note to my mum to say how good it was! It had all the comforting flavours of a classic parmigiana but in a fraction of the time. The sauted aubergine gave that deep taste, the gooey mozzarella added richness, and the Parmesan tied it all together. A lazy great win.
Would I make it again? Absolutely. Sometimes, shortcuts lead to the best discoveries. If you ever find yourself too tired to make parmigiana but still craving those flavors, give this a try!
Have you ever created a dish out of laziness? Let me know in the comments!
