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Round stuffed eggplants
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Cold Stuffed Round Eggplants (Melanzane Fredde Ripiene)

Cold stuffed round eggplants, melanzane fredde ripiene, are one of the recipes I keep coming back to from my mother's collection of Cucina Italiana. The round shells hold a veal and sausage filling, and because they are served cold I can make the whole thing well before the meal.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Keyword Meat stuffed eggplants, stuffed eggplants, Stuffed round eggplants
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 2 hours
Total Time 3 hours
Servings 8 people
Calories 329kcal

Ingredients

  • 4 large round eggplants uniform in size (about 2.5 lb / 1.2 kg total)

For the filling

  • 1 lb lean ground veal
  • 3.5 oz sausage casing removed
  • ½ cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 3 eggs 2 for the filling, 1 hard-boiled
  • 1 ½ oz stale bread
  • 1 onion
  • 2 garlic cloves divided
  • 1 large handful parsley divided
  • A splash of milk for soaking the bread
  • 1 bouillon cube

For the topping

  • 5 tablespoons plain yogurt
  • Olive oil as needed
  • 1 pinch nutmeg
  • Salt as needed

Instructions

  • Wash and dry the eggplants. Cut a small lid off the top of each one and scoop out the inner pulp without breaking the outer shells.
  • Put the pulp in a strainer, sprinkle it with salt, and let it drain to take out the bitterness.

Make the filling

  • Soak the stale bread in a little milk.
  • Finely chop the onion, one garlic clove, and a small handful of parsley.
  • Soften them in the butter with the crumbled bouillon cube.
  • In a large bowl combine the ground veal, the sausage meat, the softened onion mixture, the Parmigiano Reggiano, two eggs, the soaked bread squeezed of its milk, salt, nutmeg, and a little chopped parsley.
  • Knead by hand until the filling is even.
  • Fill the four eggplant shells with the meat mixture, put their lids back on, and set them in a baking dish.
  • Drizzle with olive oil and bake at 375°F (190°C) for close to one hour, covering the dish with aluminum foil after the first 30 minutes.

Make the topping

  • Sauté a handful of chopped parsley and the second garlic clove in three or four tablespoons of olive oil.
  • Add the reserved eggplant pulp, washed, squeezed and chopped, then season with salt and cook it gently.
  • Hard-boil the remaining egg, let it cool, peel it, and chop it finely.

Assemble

  • Take the baked eggplants out of the oven and let them cool completely.
  • Remove the lids and slice each eggplant in half lengthwise.
  • Blend the cooked pulp with the yogurt on medium speed for two minutes until you have a smooth cream, then chill it.
  • Stir a little finely chopped parsley into the chilled eggplant and yogurt cream.
  • Spread a generous layer over the cut surface of each eggplant half, scatter the chopped hard-boiled egg on top, and finish each one with a parsley leaf.
  • Keep them in the refrigerator until you serve them.

Nutrition

Calories: 329kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 21g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 131mg | Sodium: 1011mg | Potassium: 817mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 320IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 142mg | Iron: 2mg
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