Maiale al Forno con la Melanzana — Pork and Aubergine Bake

Basilicata — the maiale al forno con melanzana is a summer preparation associated with the Potenza and Matera provinces. The preparation times the main summer aubergine harvest with the pork that is available year-round from the Lucano pork tradition.

Maiale al forno con la melanzana is the summer pork bake of Basilicata — pork shoulder or ribs baked in a wide terracotta dish with sliced aubergine, dried peperoncino, dried oregano, and olive oil. The aubergine absorbs the pork fat during roasting and becomes silky and slightly caramelised; the pork renders and becomes crispy on the outside; the peperoncino flavours the fat throughout the dish. It is a preparation of great simplicity — four main ingredients, a hot oven, and time — but the result is deeply satisfying. The combination of pork and aubergine is specifically southern Italian and is found in Basilicata, Calabria, and Sicily.

Maiale al forno con la melanzana from the oven has the aubergine collapsed and silky, dark with absorbed pork fat and caramelised at the edges. The pork is golden-brown and deeply savoury; the fat has rendered and mixed with olive oil into a pool at the bottom of the dish that is the best part for bread-mopping. The peperoncino warmth runs through everything. It is a preparation of extreme simplicity and considerable pleasure.