Aubergines

Tis the season for aubergines if you live in the Mediterranean or have access to a shop – so that happily covers us all. Maura, having spent years living in Naples, makes proper Neapolitan melanzane alla parmigiana. It strikes me that although (capital letters/shouty-out) delicious, it’s not the best dish to make at this time of year (if you live in Naples or equivalent climate) as it involves standing in a boiling hot kitchen frying a lot of aubergines for a long time and getting very hot and bothered (sweaty even). Instead  you could be on a cool terrace sipping something delightfully chilled like my current fave Fiano in keeping with the dish geographically but only eating olives (the downside). It is a labour-intensive dish that is well worth the effort especially for us in our cool northern kitchens and it will instantly transport you to the beautiful Neapolitan coast.
Here is Maura’s recipe and her advice is to be generous with your ingredients (as with everything else in life!). Sofia would approve.