Il Cucinologo
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Eggplant Pizzettes

17/11/2023

Eggplant pizzettes are a delicious appetizer and a creative way to enjoy vegetables in a Mediterranean style. Here’s how to prepare them.

Ingredients

  • 2 large eggplants
  • Tomato passata as needed
  • Pizza mozzarella or fiordilatte, cut into cubes
  • Fresh basil
  • Dried oregano
  • Salt
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • Grated Parmesan (optional)
  • Pitted black olives (optional)

Preparation

  1. Start by washing the eggplants and cutting them into circular slices about 1 cm thick. Arrange them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.

  2. Lightly salt them on both sides and let them rest for about 20 minutes so they release some of their vegetable water. After this time, pat them dry with paper towels.

  3. Preheat the oven to 200 °C.

  4. Drizzle a little oil on each eggplant slice and bake them for about 15 minutes, until they start to become tender.

  5. Remove the eggplants from the oven, reduce the temperature to 180 °C, and add a tablespoon of tomato passata to each slice, spreading it well over the entire surface.

  6. Add the mozzarella cubes, a pinch of oregano, a few fresh basil leaves, and, if desired, also add some grated Parmesan and a few black olives cut into rounds.

  7. Put the eggplant pizzettes back in the oven and bake until the mozzarella is nicely melted and slightly golden, which generally takes about another 10-15 minutes.

  8. Remove the eggplant pizzettes from the oven and serve them hot as an appetizer or as a tasty vegetarian main course.

Trivia

Eggplant pizzettes are a vegetable variation of classic pizza and can be enriched with all those ingredients that are usually found on a traditional pizza. For example, you can vary by adding anchovies, capers, or cooked ham for an extra touch of flavor.