Stuffed eggplants or malangiani chini are a traditional, simple and tasty dish of Calabrian cuisine and on the tables of the inhabitants of Melissa, in the province of Crotone, they cannot be missing during a Sunday lunch or for a day of celebration.
Perfect for an appetizer or as a side dish, they can be enjoyed hot, warm or cold.
Let’s see how they prepare.
SERVINGS:4
INGREDIENTS:
- 4 eggplants
- 1 cup of minced meat (pork & veal it’s good)
- 2 tomatoes
- 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese
- 1/8 cup of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
- 1 egg
- 1 clove of garlic
- basil to taste
- breadcrumbs
- salt, pepper and oil to taste
DIRECTIONS:
First we start to wash and cut the eggplants in half, in length, extracting the pulp and putting it aside.
We put the eggplants “clean” in an ovenproof dish and in the meantime we sauté a clove of garlic.
Add half of the eggplants pulp cut into very small cubes and cook for a couple of minutes.
We remove the garlic and add the minced meat making it brown.
Now add the diced tomatoes and mix by cooking the meat for a few more minutes, seasoning it with salt and pepper.
With the flame off, add the diced mozzarella, the grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, the chopped basil and an egg and mix everything.
We will make the eggplants with the filling obtained with the help of a spoon.
On the bottom of the baking dish, pour a cup of water and sprinkle the eggplants with the breadcrumbs.
Bake them at 350 F for about 40 minutes and once ready let them cool before serving them on the table.
