Fried Chocolate eggplants from the Amalfi Coast

In Campania you always find the legendary eggplant parmigiana on restaurant menus, but it is only on the Amalfi Coast that you will find the sweet counterpart, that is, the sweet eggplant parmigiana made with fried chocolate eggplants.

During the Ferragosto period, while the entire town of Maiori is busy celebrating the Marian Assumption, the skilled hands of the Maiori people prepare the typical dessert of these days of celebration: fried chocolate eggplants.

To prepare the sweet parmigiana, the eggplants are sliced, salted, and left to dry, after which they are fried, dipped first in egg and flour, twice in a row. A sauce is prepared with chocolate, cocoa, sugar and Concerto liqueur, with egg yolks acting as a thickener.

Finally, the parmigiana is composed by dipping the fried eggplants in the chocolate mixture and arranging them in layers. At the end, almonds, candied fruit and raisins are added. And here are the chocolate eggplants ready.

Ferragosto has a deeply felt religious significance in Maiori, where the streets are decorated with the patronal lights for the celebration. Tourists and locals crowd the streets among the stalls of merchants and street artists.