Ingredients for 4 people:600 g long aubergines250 g grated aged pecorino cheese200 g cherry or Bombolini tomatoes, fresh or from a jar (if you use them from a jar strain them well)60 g breadcrumbs2 eggs8 sprigs of parsley2 cloves of garlic1 sprig of rosemary20 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil freshly milled black pepper salt
This is a recipe from the south of Italy. It has very few ingredients and, in any case, can be enriched or made lighter according to taste.
The version is Tuscan, or rather Viallino, and was prepared for the Grape Festival 2019, baked in the wood-fired oven with cherry tomatoes.
Wash the aubergines under cold running water and dry them with kitchen paper. Cut vertical slits into them, 1 cm apart, but without cutting through the bottom, so that the slices remain attached together (1).
Wash the parsley, letting all the water drip off, then take the leaves and chop them finely with the peeled cloves of garlic. Prepare the filling in a bowl by mixing the grated pecorino, breadcrumbs, chopped parsley and garlic, some freshly ground pepper, a pinch of salt and the eggs. Stir everything together thoroughly with a wooden spoon: the mixture should be soft and “moist” (2).
Open up the slits in the aubergines, sprinkle with salt (only a little!) and grease the inside of each one with a drizzle of olive oil. Fill the space between the slices with some of the filling, distributing it evenly between all the “openings”. Grease an oven dish with 2-3 spoonfuls of oil and put the stuffed aubergines in it. Wash the cherry tomatoes – if you can’t find any, cut 3-4 large ones into large cubes – and arrange them around the aubergines. Drizzle another 3-4 spoonfuls of olive oil over them, then sprinkle with a pinch of salt, the rosemary leaves and some freshly ground pepper (3).
Cook in a preheated oven, at 200 °C, for about 40 minutes..... when the aubergines are soft and the filling golden brown, you can take them out. Leave to cool for 10-15 minutes and then serve.