Veal-stuffed Eggplant

Name: Veal-stuffed Eggplant (Melanzane Ripiene)
Yield: Serves 8 as a first course
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley leaves; 4 thick slices stale ciabatta, crusts removed, roughly chopped; 200 g veal mince; ½ cup (125 ml) extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for frying and drizzling; 4 eggplants (aubergines), halved lengthways; 4 eggs, lightly beaten; salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper, to taste; 80 g aged Pecorino Sardo, freshly grated, plus extra for sprinkling; 600 ml Passata; 200 g pork mince; 100 g flat pancetta, finely chopped; 2 cloves garlic, peeled and bruised

Melanzane Ripiene

Preparation info

Serves
8
as a first course

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

A Sardinian Cookbook

By Giovanni Pilu and Roberta Muir

Published 2012

About

This recipe is based on one my mother-in-law, Rosalia, cooks; she’s from Abruzzo, but it’s very similar to the way my mother would prepare eggplants in Sardinia. They are delicious as a first course or side dish. I also love them cold the next day, either as they are or on a panino.

Ingredients

4 eggplants (aubergines), halved lengthways
salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
½ cup (

Method

Scoop eggplant flesh out of the skin, leaving a 1 cm thick shell. Sprinkle shell with salt and set aside, upside down, to drain a little. Meanwhile, chop eggplant flesh. Heat a frying pan over medium heat, add oil and, when hot, add eggplant flesh and 1 garlic clove and cook for about 10 minutes, until eggplant is soft and lightly coloured. Remove garlic clove.

Place ciabatta, parsley a