The Stuffed and Fried Genoese Baby Eggplants are a traditional dish of Ligurian cuisine. Choose the smallest, roundest ones, blanch and stuff them with a filling of cold cuts and sausage, seasoned with plenty of marjoram and strictly fried. They can be served as a main dish or as an appetizer or finger food.
Other recipes
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 40 Minutes
- Portions: 30 baby eggplants
- Cooking methods: Frying
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Spring, Summer
Ingredients
- 30 eggplants (Genoese baby eggplants)
- 2 eggs
- 3.5 oz mortadella
- 1.75 oz cooked ham
- 1.75 oz sausage
- 3.5 oz Parmigiano Reggiano DOP (grated)
- 0.35 oz dried mushrooms (soaked in water)
- 3 tbsp marjoram (chopped)
- 1.75 oz breadcrumb
- 0.5 cup milk
- 0.07 oz fine salt
- 3.5 oz breadcrumbs
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 4.25 cups peanut oil
Tools
- Kitchen Scale
- Bowl
- Melon Baller
- Frying Pan
Steps
Wash the eggplants, leaving them whole with the stem. Blanch them in boiling water for 15 minutes, just enough to soften the inside. Meanwhile, prepare the filling. Chop the cold cuts with a mezzaluna and place them in a bowl, add the skinned sausage, eggs, Parmesan cheese, marjoram, salt, and the breadcrumb soaked in milk. Once the eggplants are cool, cut them in half.
Using a melon baller, hollow out some of the flesh, which will be chopped with the mezzaluna along with the garlic and soaked mushrooms. Pour 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil into a pan and sauté everything for a few minutes. Add to the other ingredients, mix well, and let rest for 10 minutes. After resting, use a teaspoon to scoop some filling and stuff the baby eggplants.
Coat the stuffed side of the eggplants with breadcrumbs and fry them, starting with the filling side, in plenty of oil brought to the right temperature (I test it with a toothpick; if the tip fries when immersed, the oil is ready). When they are nicely colored, turn them over and after a few minutes, drain them and place them on absorbent paper. The Stuffed and Fried Genoese Baby Eggplants can be served warm as a main course or as an appetizer or finger food.
