Stuffed eggplants are a classic, simple, and typical oven-baked main dish from Calabrian, Campanian, and Apulian cuisines.
Depending on the region, they are filled and seasoned with different ingredients, and also have different names: In Calabria “Mulingiani chini” and in Campania “Mulignane mbuttunate.”
The original Calabrian stuffed eggplants recipe involves boiling, hollowing, and filling them with eggplant pulp mixed with breadcrumbs, eggs, and grated cheese.
In my version of stuffed eggplants, I added ground meat, but there are variations with tuna filling or potatoes.
A simple dish, rich in authentic flavors and aromas, that best represents Mediterranean cuisine.
- Portions: 4 People
- Cooking methods: Boiling, Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons, Summer
Ingredients
- 4 small round eggplants
- 7 oz ground veal
- 1.5 oz breadcrumbs
- 1.75 oz grated Grana cheese
- 1 egg
- 1.25 cups tomato puree
- to taste salt
- to taste garlic
- to taste parsley
- to taste grated Grana cheese
- to taste extra virgin olive oil (EVO)
Steps
Wash, remove the stems from the eggplants, and cut them in half. Put them in a pot with water and blanch them.
Once cooked, let them cool and then scoop them out.
Place the pulp in a bowl.
Add breadcrumbs, grated Grana cheese, salt, egg, parsley, and garlic to the eggplant pulp.
Mix everything with your hands.
Fill the shells with the mixture.
Add a bit of salt, garlic, and EVO oil to the tomato puree, mix.
In a baking dish, pour some of the seasoned tomato puree.
Place the stuffed eggplants inside.
Cover the eggplants with the remaining tomato puree and a sprinkle of grated Grana cheese.
Bake at 428°F for about 20-25 minutes.
Stuffed eggplants are the typical dish to serve in the summer, but you can also prepare them for winter. Just make them, freeze them, and take them out when ready to bake.
