Sausage and Rice Stuffed Eggplants

More eggplants? Well, vegetable gardens are prolific this time of year. My eggplants this year have been producing more quickly than rabbits in heat, and it's hard to keep up with them all. The eggplant "fries" from my last post have been a big hit, but man does not live by eggplant fries alone. Stuffed eggplants hit the right notes for my husband, with a filling of Italian sausage, rice, mozzarella and parmesan cheese. It's like eating eggplant parm but with the extra benefit of more protein. If you're vegetarian and want to eliminate the sausage, it will still be delicious. 

I started with these "fairy tale" eggplants, which I've never grown until this year. They're tiny, even when mature, reaching only three or four inches in length. They tend to morph from white to yellow when they ripen, with a purple striation that turns beige when cooked. But you can use those longer, glossy, all-purple eggplants too. I trimmed most of the green from the top (see the one that isn't trimmed below as well as the ones that are trimmed) but left a little nub at the top to keep the eggplants from opening up too much.

Make a crosshatch in each one, being careful not to break the skin. Smear with some olive oil, salt and pepper.

Then flip them over and bake at 350 degrees for 1/2 hour.

They'll come out of the oven looking like this. 

Scoop out the insides, being careful not to break the outer shell, if possible.

Chop the interior into small pieces.

I saved some of the interior for later use to make eggplant "meatballs." Cut up a mozzarella, and use half in the stuffing, then save half to spread on top.

Mix all the filling ingredients together.

Spread some tomato sauce on the bottom of a pan, then place the stuffed eggplants on top. Spread the remaining mozzarella and a little more tomato sauce over everything.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes, covered with aluminum foil, but remove the foil for the last 15 minutes. Sit down and enjoy these beauties.

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Sausage and Rice Stuffed Eggplants

8 small "Fairy tale" eggplants, or three large eggplants

3 cups cooked rice (brown or white)

1 cup parmesan cheese, grated

1 lb. Italian sausage (raw)

2 eggs, lightly beaten

8 ounces mozzarella cheese, grated 

salt, pepper

minced parsley

marinara sauce

Trim the stems of the eggplants but leave a little "nub" at the top to help keep it together when it bakes in the oven. Cut the eggplants in half lengthwise, then make crosshatch marks on each half, being careful not to cut through the skin. Rub with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and place skin side up on a cookie sheet. Bake in a 350 oven for 30 minutes.

Remove the eggplants from the oven and when they are cool enough to handle, scoop out the interior with a spoon. Using a sharp knife, chop the cooked eggplant into small pieces.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, add the rice, parmesan cheese, raw sausage, eggs, salt, pepper, parsley and about 1/2 of the mozzarella, keeping the other half aside to use on top.

Add the chopped eggplant to the bowl, along with 1/2 cup of marinara sauce. Mix everything well, then stuff into the eggplants.

Line a casserole (or two as I did if using the fairy tale eggplants) with some marinara sauce. Place the eggplants in the casserole and then top each eggplant with more of the mozzarella and more of the marinara sauce. Cover with foil and bake in a 350 for 45 minutes or until the sausage is cooked and the dish is piping hot. Remove the foil during the last 15 minutes.

 

Crispy Oven Baked Eggplant Fries

It's the end of August and like many people with vegetable gardens, you may be finding yourself with a surfeit of eggplants. We sure have an abundant supply and for the first time, they're not those typical shiny oblong purple eggplants that are used in Italian cooking. The ones growing in our garden are called "fairytale eggplants" and they are small and stripe-y looking. The grow only about three to four inches long when mature, making it a little difficult to cut large, long slices. I was trying to figure out what to do with them when I came up with the idea of making baked eggplant fries. 

In order to get the stick shape I was looking for, I cut thick slices (about 1" thick), then sliced the slices into three or four pieces. See photo below:

Using the traditional method of breading anything from chicken cutlets to vegetables, I arranged three plates with flour; beaten egg; and a bread crumb mixture. The bread crumb mixture contained both regular and panko bread crumbs, plus parmesan cheese and fresh, minced oregano. The first time I made these I used only panko, but they were so crunchy it hurt my teeth, so I tempered it with regular bread crumbs.

It's a messy job to dip the eggplant sticks into the three separate mixtures but keep a moist paper towel handy to clean up your fingers when you need to. Grease a cookie sheet with olive oil, then arrange the eggplant sticks on top and drizzle with more olive oil. Bake in a 425 degree oven. 

Flip them once while they're in the oven, and after 15-20 minutes, you'll have these crunchy, delicious baked eggplant fries. They make a great side dish, or serve them as an hors d'oeuvres, with a marinara sauce or aioli.

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Crispy Oven Baked Eggplant Fries

3 or 4 "baby" eggplants or 2 traditional purple eggplants

3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs

3/4 cup regular breadcrumbs

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

2 eggs, beaten

a handful of fresh herbs, minced (I used oregano but basil, thyme or marjoram would be nice too)

olive oil to drizzle on cookie sheet and over top of eggplants

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Slice the eggplants into thick 1" slices, then slice each slice into three or four "sticks."

In three separate plates, place the flour; the beaten egg; and the bread crumb mixture, made by mixing the two bread crumbs with parmesan cheese and minced oregano. 

 Dip each stick into first the flour, then the egg and finally the bread crumb/parmesan mixture.

Smear a cookie sheet with olive oil, then place the "sticks" over the olive oil. Drizzle more olive oil on top, then place in a 425 degree oven for 15-20 minutes, flipping once. 

Serve with a marinara sauce or aioli, or just plain.

Eggplant and Potato Crostata

My friend Lilli made this beautiful concoction recently, when the Italian chit-chat group convened at my house a few weeks ago. We generally serve both savory and sweet things at our weekly gatherings, and Lilli helped me by preparing this delicious eggplant and potato crostata. Lilli, who hails from Salerno, is one of my dearest friends, and a sensational cook. This recipe however, is from Giallo Zafferano, an Italian site that features so many wonderful recipes, but they’re all in Italian. I’ve translated the amounts from metric, for those of you in the U.S.  It would make a great appetizer if you’re having company, or even a main course, with a salad on the side. I hope you try it.

Click here to connect with me on Instagram and find out what’s cooking in Ciao Chow Linda’s kitchen each day (and to follow my trip through some beautiful European spots.)

Eggplant and Potato Crostata

Author: Ciao Chow Linda

printable recipe here

Ingredients

• one pastry shell, ready made or homemade
• 1 1/2 cups (400 grams)potatoes
• 1 3/4 cups (350 grams) eggplant
• 1 cup (100 grams) shredded mozzarella cheese
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups (200 grams) Parmesan cheese
• salt, pepper,
• one egg yolk (for brushing on top)

Instructions

1. Slice the eggplants (not too thinly), and sprinkle with salt.
2. Let them rest for 20 minutes.
3. Rinse and dry the eggplants with paper towels, then cut in half.
4. Fry the eggplant in oil, draining well on paper towels.
5. Wash the potatoes well, and boil them for about 20 minutes, with their skins on.
6. Test for doneness, and when they can be easily pierced with a fork, remove from the water and let them cool, then peel them.
7. Chop the potatoes roughly.
8. Cut the mozzarella into small pieces.
9. Mix the eggs in a bowl with the salt, pepper and parmesan cheese.
10. To the eggs add the potatoes, the mozzarella and the eggplant.
11. Line a tart pan with the pastry, letting some hang over the edge.
12. Fill the tart pan evenly with the eggplant and potato filling.
13. Fold the edges of the pastry over the filling and brush with beaten egg yolk.
14. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes.
15. Serve hot or at room temperature.

3.5.3251

 

Meatless Eggplant Meatballs

I’ll be the first to admit that I like a sizzling steak, a juicy pork chop, or a well roasted leg of lamb. I also love vegetables, but don’t think I could ever become a vegetarian voluntarily. But every once in a while, I eat a dish – like this one – that could sway me to the other side. Aside from the health benefits of vegetarian diets (discounting the oil these were fried in), I had further reason to make this dish. We had a bumper crop of eggplants in our garden and it’s a recipe I’ve been wanting to try for a long time.

It’s a traditional dish from Calabria, although plenty of other regions have notable eggplant dishes (caponata from Sicily, for example). Calabria, the region my father’s family is from, was historically one of Italy’s economically poorer regions, so housewives had to be creative with meat so scarce.

This particular recipe is adapted from my friend Domenica Marchetti’s book, “The Glorious Vegetables of Italy,” one of the many authoritative books on Italian cooking that she’s authored.

Start by roasting the eggplant whole, in the oven, until it looks shriveled. It took about an hour and a half to achieve this:

Peel off the skin (it comes off very easily using just your fingers), then scoop out the insides and either use a potato masher or knife and chopping board to mince the flesh finely. Don’t put it in the food processor or it will become too mushy.

Add the rest of the ingredients – bread crumbs, pecorino cheese, eggs, and seasonings. Mix it all together with a spoon by hand.

Roll into balls the size of a golf ball. Make them smaller if you like, and they’d be great cocktail munchies.

Roll them in bread crumbs.

Fry in hot oil until browned. They’re delicious right out of the frying pan, but they also make a wonderful substitute for real meatballs with spaghetti or bucatini. Drop some in your favorite tomato sauce aand serve over a heaping bowl of pasta.

Eggplant “Meatballs”

Recipe Type: main

Cuisine: Italian

Author: Ciao Chow Linda (adapted from Domenica Marchetti’s “The Glorious Vegetables of Italy”

printable recipe here

Ingredients

• 1 large eggplant
• 2 cups fresh bread crumbs
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 garlic cloves, pressed
• 1/2 teaspoon slat
• 3-4 ounces grated pecorino Romano cheese
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh basil
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh mint
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
• breadcrumbs for dredging
• vegetable oil for frying

Instructions

1. Prick a large eggplant with the tines of a fork and place the eggplant on a roasting pan.
2. Set the pan in a preheated 350 degree oven and roast for about one and a half hours, until the skin looks shriveled and the interior is completely cooked through.
3. Let the eggplant cool, then strip off the skin.
4. It should peel off easily with your fingers.
5. Mince the flesh with a large chopping knife, or use a potato masher to mash.
6. Add all the rest of the ingredients (except the breadcrumbs for dredging and the vegetable oil), and mix everything together.
7. Roll into balls the size of a golf ball or smaller if you want to serve them as hors d’oevres.
8. Dredge the balls in the breadcrumbs and fry in sizzling hot oil.
9. Turn the balls over to brown the other side, then remove and drain on paper towels.
10. Serve as is, with a sprinking of parmesan or pecorino cheese, OR, transfer the eggplant meatballs to a pot with simmering tomato sauce, and serve over pasta.

3.5.3251

 

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Pasta Alla Norma

It's easy to be inspired to cook in the summer, with all the fresh, seasonal produce available from farmers' markets and backyard gardens. 

It's also easy to be inspired when a company like Olio2go sends you some outstanding extra virgin olive oils from Tuscany.

This trio arrived in the mail the other day and I knew exactly how to start using them, after harvesting a ripe eggplant from the garden.

It had been at least a year since I made pasta alla Norma, the iconic Sicilian dish with eggplant, named after Bellini's opera. It was time once again.

You don't have to peel your eggplant, and I was sorry I had, since the skin was so thin and the purple color would have made a nice contrast to the sauce. Slice the eggplant (about 1/2 inch thick - any thinner and the pieces will fall apart in cooking), then cut into cubes.

I spread the cubes on paper towels and salted them. It's supposed to help remove the bitterness and some of the water. I'm not so sure it's necessary when the eggplant is so young and fresh, but I do it anyway if I have time. I let the cubes drain on the paper towels for at least 1/2 hour.

Many people grill or broil the eggplant, rather than fry, since eggplant is notorious for soaking up oil.  I've done it myself and it works just fine. But it's just not as flavorful as cooking it in oil and if you cook it in a nonstick pan, it minimizes the amount of oil needed.

 I chose to cook the eggplant using the Guadagnolo Primus extra virgin oil from Olio2go. This is an intensely spicy oil that comes from pressing of the earliest ripening olives. I thought it would hold its own with the tomatoes and eggplant, and it did. But I didn't want the eggplant laden with oil, so I limited myself to four tablespoons, enough to grab the flavor of the oil without overly drowning the eggplant. I also added a drizzle at the end to finish the dish.

A nonstick pan (I love the ones from ScanPan) is almost essential in keeping the cubes from attaching to the bottom of the pan.

Toss them around until they're cooked through and golden brown.

Meanwhile, prepare the sauce. I used fresh tomatoes from the garden, cooking them for only about 1/2 hour, to keep the sauce nice and light. Feel free to use a good canned variety. Gustiamo.com sells fantastic ones, including these Piennolo tomatoes from Mt. Vesuvius.

A crucial ingredient to pasta alla Norma is ricotta salata cheese - a dry, salty ricotta cheese that can be found in Italian specialty stores or supermarkets.

 Can you make this dish without it? Yes, you can use parmesan or pecorino, but it won't be the same. So search out ricotta salata if you can.

Toss the pasta (traditionally rigatoni) with the sauce and eggplant, top with the ricotta salata, a drizzle of a little more olive oil, and a basil chiffonade.

 It will make you wish summer could stay all year.

Stay tuned for more recipes using these fantastic olive oils from Fattoria Ramerino.

 Don't forget to check out my Instagram page here to see more of what I'm cooking up each day. 

You can also connect with Ciao Chow Linda here on Facebook, here for Pinterest or  here for Twitter. 

Pasta Alla Norma

printable recipe here

(serves two or three)



1 medium eggplant, peeled (peeling is optional)

salt

4 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil



for the tomato sauce:

4 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 cup minced onions

2 small, or 1 large clove garlic

5 fresh ripe medium tomatoes, peeled and diced (or use about two cups canned tomatoes with juices)

salt, pepper to taste

fresh basil, about a half dozen leaves

pinch of crushed red pepper



1/2-3/4 cup shredded ricotta salata



1/2 pound rigatoni pasta



a drizzle of olive oil to finish



Peel the eggplant, if desired. Cut into cubes, about 1/2 inch square. Sprinkle with salt and let them drain for a half hour or longer.  Place the olive oil in a nonstick pan and toss in the olive oil, cooking until softened and lightly browned. Set aside and make the sauce.



For the sauce, peel the tomatoes by placing in boiling water for a minute or two. Slip off the peels, core and dice. Pour the olive oil into a saucepan. Add the onion and garlic, cooking until softened. Add the tomatoes, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper and basil. Cook at low to medium heat for about 1/2 hour to 45 minutes.



Cook the pasta, drain into the tomato sauce, and add the eggplant. Toss all together, then top with the ricotta salt, more minced basil and a drizzle of olive oil.

Eggplant and Pasta Timballo

 Looking for a way to use up some of that late summer eggplant in a show-stopping presentation? This eggplant timballo fits the bill, and it's much easier to make that you'd think. Imagine the surprise on your guests' faces when you slice into this, unveiling the pasta interior. Some of my blogger friends - Rowena and Marie - have also posted similar recipes and I always find inspiration from them.

For this timballo, I used a one-quart souffle dish that was lightly oiled. I grilled just one large eggplant, spreading a little olive oil on each slice before placing on the grill. Place the pieces with the prettiest grill marks facing the dish, not on the inside since it will be filled with pasta. 

I cooked the pasta - anelli (little rings) in this case - then added some cooked sausage, peas and tomato sauce.

Throw in some parmesan cheese and mozzarella cheese. I had only about 2 ounces of mozzarella in the fridge, but I recommend using more. It helps to "glue" everything together.

 Blend it all together.

And stuff the dish to the brim.

Fold the eggplant slices over the pasta and bake.

Let it rest at least 15 minutes before flipping and serving - with extra sauce on the side.

Here's a timballo I made last year using a much larger pot. You can see I ran out of eggplants, even though I used three. I baked it this way anyway.

It held together well enough and everyone loved it just the same.

Even though it uses only one pound of pasta, it served a lot of people. That's why I went with the smaller one-quart container you see in the first photo this time, that used only 1/2 pound of pasta. But if you've got a crowd of a dozen people coming, the larger timballo will serve that many people comfortably.

Eggplant Timballo

(for a one-quart souffle dish or similar vessel)

This will serve at least six people easily.

printable recipe here



1 large eggplant, sliced about 1/4 inch thick

1/2 pound anelli pasta, or other pasta to your taste

1 pound sausage

1/2 cup peas, cooked

4 ounces mozzarella cheese, cubed

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 1/2 cups to 2 cups tomato sauce



Smear the eggplant slices with oil and grill until cooked through. Oil a one-quart souffle dish or similar vessel and arrange the cooked eggplant slices inside, leaving enough hanging over the side to fold over the pasta when the dish is full.



Remove the casing from the sausage, break into bits and cook in a pan. Boil water and cook the pasta until it's al dente. Drain the pasta and place into a bowl with the cooked sausage, and the rest of the ingredients, using as much tomato sauce as necessary to coat well. Reserve some of the sauce for later. Fill the dish with the pasta, then fold the eggplant slices over, covering the top of the pasta completely. Cover with aluminum foil and bake in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes. Remove and let it rest for at least 15 minutes. Invert onto a serving platter, sprinkle with some parmesan cheese, and serve with the extra sauce.

Ottolenghi

If there's one chef in England whose name keeps springing up on food blogs, it's Yoram Ottolenghi. A Jew who was born and raised in Jerusalem to a German mother and an Italian father, his food bears a decidedly middle Eastern influence, and a broader Mediterranean one as well.  He moved to London in 1997, ostensibly to study for a doctorate degree, but got sidelined along the way to study at Le Cordon Bleu instead.  A business partnership with Sami Tamini, a Palestinian also raised in Jerusalem,  led to the opening of four shops in London, one of which I had to check out on my recent visit. My friend Mariana and I went to the Islington location, the only one of the Ottolenghi shops that has an area where diners can actually be seated.

Still, we decided to choose take-out from the bountiful offerings available and transport our booty home to eat in the comfort of Mariana and Carlo's living room  -- much easier than keeping four little ones happy in hard plastic chairs in a cramped seating area.

We got something to please all appetites - the children's less adventuresome palates were happy with the tender beef filet and potatoes, while the adults marveled at the range of flavors in the vegetarian dishes - winter slaw, eggplants with turmeric yogurt, cauliflower and lentil salads, and a melange of snow peas, asparagus and water cress -- oh and foccaccia too, plus a delicious selection of desserts I forgot to photograph in the frenzy of eating.

Having flipped through his two cookbooks, Ottolenghi and Plenty, and now eaten his food, it's apparent that Ottolenghi loves to give herbs and spices a starring role, including ones that may be unfamiliar to most Americans, like zatar and sumac. Back at home, I knew I had to try to cook some of the bold and flavorful dishes I had eaten. Italian food is my first love, but I do step out to other cuisines too. I chose to recreate a hybrid version between the eggplant dish I had eaten from the restaurant, and an eggplant recipe in one of his cookbooks. Although I tucked a small jar of that sumac in my suitcase, you won't need any esoteric spices for this recipe, but what you'll still achieve is a new and fresh flavor sensation that's a far cry (at least for me) from the food I've been eating all my life.

Ottolenghi-inspired Eggplant 

Printable Recipe Here

2 medium to large eggplants

olive oil to brush on the eggplant

1 small container (6 oz) Greek yogurt

1/2 tsp. turmeric

1/2 tsp. cumin

1/4 tsp. mustard seeds

1/4 tsp. coriander seeds

salt, pepper to taste

toasted pine nuts

pomegranate seeds

cilantro leaves

I peel eggplant "stripes" leaving on some of the skin. Cut into 1/4 inch slices and grill, brushing each slice of eggplant with some olive oil. If you don't have a grill, place the eggplant slices on a cookie sheet that's been greased with olive oil. Brush the top side of the eggplant slices with oil. Roast in a 400 degree oven until cooked through and golden, flipping once.

Let the eggplant slices cool, and arrange on a platter. To make the sauce, grind the seeds in a mortar and pestle - or if you have a small electric coffee grinder, use that. Mix all ingredients together except the last three. Spread the sauce over the eggplant, then sprinkle on pine nuts that you've toasted a little to give some color, and some pomegranate seeds. Top with some cilantro leaves. Serve at room temperature.