Eggplant Parmigiana
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...To this

In a few simple steps with a Sicilian Eggplant/Aubergine. No frying involved and the only ingredients are: bread crumbs, olive oil, salt, pepper, egg, fresh tomato sauce, cheese -mozzarella/Parmesan and seasoning. Simply divine and it melts in your mouth!!!

It is the best eggplant parmigiana you will ever taste, recipe courtesy of Momma Dolce-drop me a line if you want it.

The aubergine is an important food crop grown for its large, pendulous, purple or white fruit. It has been cultivated in southern and eastern Asian countries since prehistory but appears to have become known to the Western world no earlier than ca. 1500 CE. The numerous Arabic and North African names for it, along with the lack of ancient Greek and Roman names, indicate that it was introduced throughout the Mediterranean area by the Arabs in the early Middle Ages. The scientific name melongena is derived from a 16th-century Arabic term for one kind of aubergine.

There is a lot of Arab influence in Sicily and in Italian eggplant is called melanzana. Read more on the purple plant/fruit's interesting history: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aubergine