Stuffed eggplant/aubergine/melanzane

Stuffed

preheat oven to 175°C or 350°F

1 medium egplant, washed split and made into a 1/2″ shell
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 leg celery minced, including the leaves
1-1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup or 60 g dry bread crumbs or fresh breadcrumbs by weight only
3 handsful of fresh herbs, cleaned and chopped
1 ounce or 30 g grated pecorino or other flavorful cheese
Freshly grated Parmigiano to cover the tops
freshly ground pepper

I cut around the edge of the vegetable, leaving about 1/2 inch, then I use a teaspoon to pull strips of the flesh out, being careful always to leave that amount of shell behind. Sprinkle the insides of the shells with the 1/4 teaspoon of salt.

Coarsely chop the flesh you removed from the vegetable. Make a nice dice of the onion and a very fine dice or chop of the celery.

Heat the oil in a quite large frying pan and then add the onions and the garlic, reducing the flame to medium so the garlic won’t burn. Add the 1-1/2 teaspoon of salt or if you are a clever cook and made my perfumed salt, use 1-1/2 teaspoons of that. You won’t be sorry.

When the onions and garlic are softened, add about 2 tablespoons of water and let it all boil away, then add the chopped flesh and stir it in well. Allow that to saute while you clean and mince the herbs you plan to use– I used about 4 tablespoons worth of basil, oregano and thyme today, just giving the stuff in the frying pan a little shove once in a while.

When that all looks sort of wilted, turn off the heat and sprinkle the breadcrumbs over it all. You need about 60 grams, where it’s dry or fresh crumb. If you have to guesstimate fresh bread, look at the label that tells how much is a serving and calculate to 2 ounces. It’s usually one slice and they tell the weight. When you’ve stirred the bread in well, stir in the herbs and the first cheese then add enough water to make a soft and fluffy mixture. Mine took a bit more than 125 ml or 1/2 cup. It will clearly take different amounts depending on which bread you use.

Put the shells in an oiled baking dish, then pile the stuffing into them. Sprinkle the second grating of cheese all over them and pop into the oven for about an hour, so that the shell is cooked and starts to collapse a bit. You can go have a cocktail with a neighbor, give yourself a pedicure or take the dog for a really good walk, because your meal needs no further attention until you take it out of the oven in an hour’s time.

As a vegetable dish this should serve six to eight people. Just cut in two lengthwise, then crosswise. As a main course it should serve four with other foods, or two if this is all you eat. It’s all I ate and I liked it. I will admit I like the texture of it made with ground/minced meat even better, but the taste is really great without it, and of course this makes it a real bargain.