Melanzane a Barchetta (Stuffed Eggplant)

I love eggplant and I love easy and quick recipes. This has it all.

Three eggplants. — *The most important thing when making any eggplant dish is to choose good eggplants. Try to find firm ones with very dark skin, a smooth surface, and few blemishes.*

Much easier and less time-consuming than making eggplant parmesan, this recipe for stuffed eggplant requires about 15-minutes of preparation and then 45 minutes of baking. But the best thing is that you can make this ahead of time: several hours ahead of time. In fact, it’s best that you do.

Eggplant halves that have been scooped out and made into boats. — *After slicing the eggplants vertically, I take a knife and score the section I plan on taking out before scooping it out with a tablespoon.*

That’s because these delicacies taste better after they’ve been sitting awhile. The flavors get more intense. So when they’re done, I simply shut off the oven and let them sit there another 90-minutes before serving them at room temperature. I’ve even made these in the morning and then waited five or six hours before serving them. At that point, you can either serve them at room temperature or heat them up quickly in the microwave.

Eggplant boats filled with a colorful mixture. — *Chop up the eggplant innards and throw them into a large bowl along with chopped grape tomatoes, black olives and capers. This is the filling.*

I top the filled eggplants with a mixture of parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, and a smoky cheese. This time I used smoked gouda with bacon bits, because that’s what I had in my refrigerator.

Three grated cheeses on a cutting board. — I always grate parmesan cheese right before I need to use it. And I recommend using the best, Parmigiano-Reggiano. Do not use the canned parmesan they sell at supermarkets as I’m not sure it’s even cheese.

Melanzane a Barchetta (Stuffed Eggplant)

January 30, 2021

Servings: 4-6

Prep: 15 min

Cook: 45 min

Total: 1 hr

Difficulty: Easy

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This is the easiest and quickest eggplant recipe I know. And more importantly, it's delicious.

By: Mark Micheli

Ingredients

Eggplants, 3, halved vertically
Grape Tomatoes, one pint, chopped
Black olives, half a cup, halved
Capers, 3 tablespoons
Extra-virgin olive oil, 1/3 cup to 1/2 cup
Tomato sauce (or boxed/canned chopped or strained tomatoes), 1/2 cup
Oregano, pinch
Salt and pepper, a pinch
Parmigiano cheese (The best is Parmigiano Reggiano), about 1/3 cup, grated
Fresh mozzarella, 1 cup, chopped
Smoked mozzarella or gouda, 1/2 cup

Directions

Step 1 Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Step 2 Slice the eggplants vertically
Step 3 Score the eggplant halves with a sharp knife and then scoop out the flesh with a tablespoon
Step 4 Chop up the eggplant innards into 1-inch pieces and put them into a large bowl
Step 5 Chop up the grape tomatoes and olives and add them to the bowl along with the capers and a little bit of olive oil
Step 6 Stir the mixture well and spoon it into each eggplant boat topping with a little bit of olive oil
Step 7 Spoon a little bit of the tomato sauce on top and add the salt, pepper, and oregano
Step 8 Top with parmesan cheese, then the mozzarella and smoky cheese
Step 9 Bake in the oven for 45 minutes
Step 10 Turn oven off and let sit there for 90 minutes (or more) until you’re ready to serve (they taste better if you let them sit awhile before you eat them and they can be served either at room temperature or heated up in a microwave)