TOMATOES PARMIGIANA with eggplant and mozzarella

In Italy we particularly love stuffing tomatoes! We really enjoy Roman-style gratin dishes prepared with breadcrumbs and herbs or with rice and potatoes. Today we’ll prepare them with one of my favorite fillings: diced eggplants that we will fry beforehand in order to release the typical eggplant parmigiana flavor. To further enhance our filling, we will add sun-dried tomatoes and smoked aged mozzarella (in Italy known as “scamorza“). You may serve these tasty tomatoes as an appetizer or as a side dish to your grilled meat. Once ready, let stand for 5 minutes and serve still warm!e ready, let stand for 5 minutes and serve still warm!

4 big round tomatoes.
7 oz (200 gr) eggplant.
3 oz (80 gr) smoked grated mozzarella.
10 sun-dried tomatoes.
1 pint extra virgin olive oil.
1 teaspoon fresh oregano.
1 teaspoon dry oregano.
to taste table salt.

Preheat oven to 285 °C.

Tomatoes in the oven

Cut the tops of the tomatoes and remove the pulp. Prepare an emulsion with 3 tablespoons olive oil, 1 level teaspoon dry oregano and a pinch of salt. Massage the tomatoes with the emulsion. Place them on a baking tray lined with a sheet of baking paper. Bake at 285 ° F for 1 hour and 40 minutes.

The filling

Cut into small cubes 1 oz of smoked grated mozzarella and the sun-dried tomatoes, and put them aside. Cut the eggplants into 2 inch cubes and fry in olive oil in a small saucepan, until they are golden brown. When ready, let stand on a sheet of absorbent paper.

Stuffed tomatoes with eggplant parmigiana

After 1 hour and 40 minutes remove the tomatoes from the oven. Raise the temperature to 320 °F. Mix the mozzarella, dried tomatoes and eggplant with the finely chopped fresh oregano. If necessary, add salt to the mixture and distribute it evenly inside the tomatoes. As a final touch, grate the remaining cheese over the tomatoes. Bake for another 20 minutes, grilling for the last 5. When grilling, check frequently: a golden crust should form without burning the cheese! Let stand 5 minutes and serve.

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STUFFED BELGIAN ENDIVES WITH GRATED SMOKED MOZZARELLA

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TOMATOES PARMIGIANA with smoked mozzarella, eggplant and sun-dried tomatoes

Prep time

25 mins

Cook time

2 hours

Total time

2 hours 25 mins

In Italy we particularly love stuffing tomatoes! We really enjoy Roman-style gratin dishes prepared with breadcrumbs and herbs or with rice and potatoes. Today we'll prepare them with one of my favorite fillings: diced eggplants that we will fry beforehand in order to release the typical eggplant parmigiana flavor. To further enhance our filling, we will add sun-dried tomatoes and smoked aged mozzarella (in Italy known as "scamorza"). You may serve these tasty tomatoes as an appetizer or as a side dish to your grilled meat. Once ready, let stand for 5 minutes and serve still warm!e ready, let stand for 5 minutes and serve still warm!

Author: Filippo Trapella

Recipe type: Appetizer

Cuisine: Italian

Serves: 4

Ingredients

4 big round tomatoes.
7 oz (200 gr) eggplants.
3 oz (80 gr) smoked aged mozzarella.
10 sun-dried tomatoes.
1 pint extra virgin olive oil.
1 teaspoon fresh oregano.
1 teaspoon dry oregano.
to taste table salt.

Instructions

Preheat oven to 285 °C.
TOMATOES IN THE OVEN - Cut the tops of the tomatoes and remove the pulp. Prepare an emulsion with 3 tablespoons olive oil, 1 level teaspoon dry oregano and a pinch of salt. Massage the tomatoes with the emulsion. Place them on a baking tray lined with a sheet of baking paper. Bake at 285 ° C for 1 hour and 40 minutes.
THE FILLING - Cut into small cubes 1 oz of smoked aged mozzarella and the sun-dried tomatoes, and put them aside. Cut the eggplants into 2 inch cubes and fry in olive oil in a small saucepan, until they are golden brown. When ready, let stand on a sheet of absorbent paper.
STUFFED TOMATOES WITH EGGPLANT PARMIGIANA -After 1 hour and 40 minutes remove the tomatoes from the oven. Raise the temperature to 320 °F. Mix the mozzarella, dried tomatoes and eggplant with the finely chopped fresh oregano. If necessary, add salt to the mixture and distribute it evenly inside the tomatoes. As a final touch, grate the remaining cheese over the tomatoes. Bake for another 20 minutes, grilling for the last 5. When grilling, check frequently: a golden crust should form without burning the cheese! Let stand 5 minutes and serve.