Eggplants are a fabulous vegetable that lend themselves to many recipes, from appetizers to main courses. The eggplant season is in the summer from May to July, and it is during this period that they become the star of many fabulous preparations of all kinds. In this recipe, I prepare the stuffed eggplants Pugliese style with simple ingredients like bread, cheese, and eggs, but they are very tasty and light. There are countless fillings for stuffing eggplants, from meat to tuna, vegetables, or pasta… this is more of a rustic, simple recipe and as with all simple things, they are often the best. Now I leave you with the recipe and other ideas!!
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 6 small eggplants
- 3 slices rustic bread
- 1 egg
- 1 clove garlic
- salt
- pepper
- chopped parsley
- 3.5 oz milk for the breadcrumbs
- 2 tbsps pecorino cheese
- 1 tbsp capers
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- oil
Tools
- Baking sheet
- Parchment paper
Steps
First, take the eggplants, wash them, remove the tips, then cut them in half and hollow them out. Dice the inside part you removed and put it in a pan with a drizzle of oil and a bit of salt. Cover and let them soften for 10 minutes.
Start preparing the filling. Take the slices of bread and remove the crust, leaving only the crumbs. Chop them into pieces and soak them in the milk. Once softened, mash them with a fork.
In a container, place the softened eggplant, the breadcrumbs that have absorbed all the milk, and all the other ingredients: the egg, salt, pepper, capers, chopped parsley, crushed garlic, and pecorino. Mix everything.
Prepare a little oil with a bit of salt in a small bowl, take the hollowed-out eggplants, and use a brush to oil the entire inside. Arrange them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and stuff them.
At this point, prepare the tomato sauce with some pecorino and a bit of salt and spoon a little over each eggplant. Finish with a drizzle of oil.
Bake at 430°F (220°C) in a fan oven for 30 minutes. The stuffed eggplants Pugliese style are ready! Serve them hot.
Storage
You can store the stuffed eggplants in the refrigerator for 2/3 days.
Notes
If you don’t want to turn on the oven, you can cook the eggplants in a pan with the same procedure, adding a little oil to the bottom of the pan and covering them with the lid.
