Rice-Stuffed Eggplants

Here is a recipe for rice-stuffed eggplants Italian-style:

Ingredients

• 4 medium eggplants
• 200g rice
• 400g tomato passata
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 onion
• 100g grated parmesan
• 150g mozzarella
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Fresh basil
• Salt and pepper to taste.

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 180 °C.
2. Cut the eggplants in half lengthwise and carefully scoop out the pulp, leaving about a centimeter of border to ensure they maintain their shape.
3. Dice the removed pulp and set it aside.
4. Bake the eggplant shells in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until they start to become soft.
5. Meanwhile, cook the rice in boiling salted water until it is al dente, then drain and set aside.
6. In a pan, sauté the chopped garlic and onion in extra virgin olive oil until they become translucent.
7. Add the eggplant cubes and cook until they are tender.
8. Add the tomato passata, season with salt and pepper to taste and let cook for about 10 minutes.
9. Remove the sauté from the heat and mix with the rice, parmesan and mozzarella cut into cubes, then adjust salt and pepper if necessary.
10. Fill the eggplant shells with this rice and tomato filling and sprinkle with more grated parmesan.
11. Bake the stuffed eggplants for about 20 minutes or until the surface is golden and crispy.
12. Let them cool slightly before serving and garnish with fresh basil leaves.

Rice-stuffed eggplants are a rich and hearty dish, perfect to be served as a main course. In Italy, there are various regional variants of this dish, some of which include the addition of ground meat or cooked ham in the filling.