Chicken parmigiana is a dish that graces menus in pubs around Australia, but it may surpriseIt was made using thin slices of eggplant laid at the bottom of a dish, drizzled in olive oil, topped with Napoletana (tomato-based) sauce, herbs and mozzarella cheese, then baked. These ingredients were all accessible to even the poorest families and eggplant parmigiana was known as one of the (from the kitchen of the poor) dishes. It was not until Italian migrants in the United States found themselves better off and with access to meats such as chicken that breaded chicken replaced the eggplant. So the chicken parmigiana (or parmy) that you know today is actually an American invention.
