There is no frying in my pumpkin parmigiana, yet it is a dish that wins for creaminess and flavor. In this version, light and enveloping, pumpkin becomes the absolute protagonist. Thinly sliced and sautéed for a few minutes in a pan, it maintains its delicate texture and natural sweetness, enhanced by the tender and flavorful skin that is just not worth discarding. Layer by layer, tomato sauce, grated cheese, fresh basil, and creamy crescenza alternate for a perfect balance between sweetness, acidity, and softness. In short, few ingredients, but with a surprising result. And in the oven, the magic happens because everything melts together creating a truly irresistible dish. In summary… it’s a lighter parmigiana, without frying and without sacrifices; great to enjoy even the next day when, like any respectable parmigiana, it becomes even better. So, save the recipe, turn on the oven, and let the pumpkin conquer you.
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- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 4 People
- Cooking methods: Stove, Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter, and Spring
Ingredients for Pumpkin Parmigiana
- 14 oz pumpkin flesh
- 12 oz tomato purée
- Half a golden onion
- A few tbsps broth
- Grana Padano cheese (or Parmesan)
- 10 oz crescenza cheese
- A few leaves basil
- extra virgin olive oil
- salt
- black pepper
Tools
- 2 Pans
- 1 Baking dish (mine is oval: 12 x 7 inches)
Preparation of Pumpkin Parmigiana
In a small pan, heat a drizzle of olive oil with a couple of tablespoons of water, then add the finely chopped onion.
Let it sizzle for a moment before adding the tomato purée and a few hand-torn basil leaves. Lower the heat and continue cooking for about fifteen minutes, stirring occasionally and seasoning with salt at the end of cooking.
In the meantime, remove all seeds and inner filaments from the pumpkin and wash it well, scrubbing the skin thoroughly as we will not remove it. It is delicious and it would be a real shame to discard it. Then cut it into fairly thin slices (no more than 1/8 inch).
In a large pan, heat a drizzle of olive oil and a few tablespoons of broth, then add the pumpkin slices and sauté them quickly for 3 minutes, seasoning with salt only at the end.
Grease a baking dish with olive oil and pour two tablespoons of tomato sauce on the bottom.
Then, make a layer with the pumpkin slices and cover them with more tomato sauce.
Sprinkle with grated cheese and distribute crescenza cheese and a few pieces of basil leaf here and there.
Continue in the same way, repeating the various layers: there will be four. Finish with crescenza cheese, a grind of black pepper, and more grated cheese.
Bake the pumpkin parmigiana in a preheated static oven at 356°F for 30 minutes. Take it out of the oven and let it cool for 5 minutes before serving directly from the baking dish. Enjoy! Paola
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