Baked stuffed aubergines

baked stuffed aubergines

First of May and it is tanking it down here in England!! :-( Well…Hello everyone and sorry for the silence of these past few weeks but firstly I went on holiday during the Easter break so had no internet access and secondly I managed to break my leg on the first day back at work hence I’ve been out of action. In truth, I still am as my leg is in a plaster cast but  at least I finally managed to hobble to the computer. Just BEFORE the accident I cooked this really nice vegetarian dish from the Two greedy Italians cookery book (slightly adapted). I love aubergines and was impressed as to how nice this particular dish was. Really quite delicious (taste wise it reminded me of melanzane alla parmigiana) and not too complicated either. It was really tasty. Definitely one I’ll make again.

INGREDIENTS ( as appear in the book. I halved them as I was only cooking for 2)

4 large aubergines

150 ml extra virgin olive oil (I used a lot less. It seemed a bit excessive to me)

1 onion, finely chopped

1 tin plum tomatoes (in the recipe 250 gr. fresh tomatoes, roughly chopped)

handful of fresh basil leaves, roughly torn

salt and pepper

100 gr. bread, roughly crumbled

120 gr. provolone cheese (in absence of that I used Comte but I used more than the recipe stated)

5 tbs freshly grated parmesan

TOPPING

12 cherry tomatoes

2 tbsp. dried breadcrumbs

METHOD

Cut the auberginesa in half lengthways to give 8 halves. Take 6 of the aubergines halves and make an incision with a small sharp knife about 1/2 cm. in from the edge, taking care not to tear the skin. Carefully remove the pulp with a spoon. You will be left with empty aubergine shells. Finely chop the pulp and set aside. Peel the remaining 2 aubergine halves, discard the skin and finely chop the flesh and add it to the rest of the pulp.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan, add the onion and sweat until softened. Add the pulp and cook over a medium heat for about 4 minutes, stirring all the time. Add the tomatoes, basil, salt and pepper and cook for a further 2 minutes, until soft. Remove from the heat and leave to cool, then mix in the bread, cheese and 3 tablespoons of parmesan. Fill the aubergine shells with this mixture.

Drizzle a little olive oil in an ovenproof dish and place the filled shells in it, ensuring they are packed together tightly. Top with the cherry tomatoes and drizzle over a little more oil. Combine the breadcrumbs and the remaining parmesan and sprinkle over each one. Bake in the oven at 220 degrees for approx. 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

I suggest waiting a few minutes for the aubergines to cool down a bit before serving.

 

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