Fennel Parmigiana

Fennel Parmigiana is a lighter and less known variant of the traditional eggplant parmigiana, but it’s equally delicious.

Ingredients

• 4 medium fennels
• 200 g of mozzarella (preferably fiordilatte)
• 50 g of grated Parmesan cheese
• 400 g of tomato puree
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Fresh basil
• Salt and pepper
• 1 clove of garlic
• Flour (if necessary for dredging the fennels)
• Oil for frying (if you choose to fry the fennels)

Preparation

1. Start by cleaning the fennels: remove the outer tough leaves and cut off the base. Then slice each fennel vertically into slices about half a centimeter thick.

2. If you prefer a lighter version, you can boil the fennel slices in salted boiling water for 5 minutes. If you prefer a more traditional version, lightly flour the slices and fry them in hot oil until golden. Once ready, place them on paper towels to remove excess oil.

3. Prepare a simple tomato sauce: fry the garlic in a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, add the tomato puree, salt, pepper and cook for about 15 minutes. At the end of cooking, add hand-torn basil leaves.

4. Cut the mozzarella into slices and let it drain.

5. Take a baking dish and start assembling the parmigiana. Pour a little tomato sauce on the bottom, then arrange a layer of fennel slices, cover with more slices of mozzarella, and sprinkle with Parmesan. Repeat the layers until you run out of ingredients, ending with Parmesan.

6. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 °C for about 30 minutes or until the surface is golden brown.

7. Let the fennel parmigiana rest for a few minutes before serving.

Curiosity

although parmigiana is famous in the version with eggplants, in Italy it is common to find variations with zucchinis, potatoes and, as in this case, with fennels. Each variation keeps the concept of layers with cheese and sauce, staying true to the spirit of the original dish.