P
Italian · Basilicata
Maiale al Forno con la Melanzana — Pork and Aubergine Bake
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.
I
The Market List
The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.
1.2 kg
pork shoulder or pork ribs
bone-in, cut into large pieces
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
800 g
aubergine
sliced into 1 cm rounds
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
80 ml
olive oil
plus more for drizzling; extra-virgin
Your own market
2 tsp
dried oregano
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
2
dried peperoncino
Lucano if possible; dried whole, crumbled; not commercial chilli flakes
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
1 tsp
black pepper
freshly ground
Your own market
2 tsp
fine salt
for seasoning pork; plus coarse salt for draining aubergine
Your own market
II
The Method
1
Spread the aubergine rounds in a single layer on a rack or board. Scatter generously with coarse salt and leave for 30 minutes. Rinse under cold water and pat completely dry with a clean cloth. The rounds should be limp and free of bitterness.
2
Season the pork pieces on all sides with fine salt, black pepper, dried oregano, and the crumbled peperoncino. Press the seasoning into the surface.
3
Arrange the drained aubergine rounds in a single layer in a wide terracotta dish or heavy ovenproof dish. Lay the seasoned pork on and among the aubergine slices. Drizzle generously and evenly with the olive oil. The dish should not look dry; the aubergine requires sufficient oil to roast rather than scorch.
4
Place in an oven preheated to 200 °C. Roast for 45 minutes. This is where the dish lives or dies: the pork must achieve a deep golden-brown caramelised crust in this initial high heat before the temperature is reduced. If the pork is merely pale and steaming at 45 minutes, the crust will not form adequately in the lower heat that follows.
5
Reduce the oven to 170 °C. Continue roasting for 30 to 40 minutes. The aubergine beneath the pork softens fully, collapses, and takes on colour at its edges where it meets the rendered pork fat and oil. Test by pressing an aubergine round with a spoon — it should offer no resistance and feel entirely silky.
6
Remove from the oven. The dish is ready when the pork is deeply coloured, the aubergine is soft and slightly caramelised, and a pool of rendered fat mixed with olive oil has collected in the base of the dish. Rest for five minutes before bringing the dish to the table. Serve with bread to mop the fat in the dish.
III
Quality Hierarchy
01
Reserve — Bone-in pork shoulder from a Lucano or southern Italian black-pig breed, Lucano dried whole peperoncino, and a wide antique terracotta tian or tiella that has seasoned over many years of use.
02
Estate — Free-range bone-in pork shoulder or short ribs from a named farm, dried whole peperoncino from Calabria or Basilicata, a good extra-virgin olive oil from the Mezzogiorno, and a purpose-made terracotta baking dish.
03
Market — Bone-in pork shoulder or pork ribs from a good butcher, dried whole peperoncino from any reputable Italian supplier, a reliable southern Italian extra-virgin olive oil, and a heavy ovenproof ceramic or cast-iron dish in the absence of terracotta.
04
House — Bone-in pork ribs from a supermarket, dried chilli flakes as a substitute for whole peperoncino, and any neutral olive oil; acceptable but the rendered-fat pool in the base will be less complex and the peperoncino warmth less round.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Sight. Pork is deeply golden-brown with a caramelised crust after the first 45 minutes at 200 °C
◇Touch. Aubergine rounds offer no resistance when pressed with a spoon — fully collapsed and silky
◇Sight. A pool of rendered pork fat mixed with olive oil is visible at the base of the dish
◇Sight. Aubergine edges show caramelisation and darkening where they have absorbed and concentrated the fat
◇Smell. The peperoncino fragrance runs through the steam rising from the dish when it emerges from the oven
◇Where it lives or dies. The initial 45 minutes at 200 °C must produce a deep caramelised crust on the pork; without it, no subsequent roasting recovers the colour or the rendered fat that the aubergine beneath depends upon.
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VI
What to Pour
The pairing
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