Italian Stuffed Eggplant Boats
These eggplant boats are a traditional recipe from Sicily. They use popular Italian flavors like tomato, garlic, basil, and Parmigiano with a special Sicilian cheese adding a unique, delicious flavor.
Servings: 4
Calories: 388kcal
Ingredients
- 6 ½ oz anelletti pasta
- 2 eggplants (large)
- 8-10 cherry tomatoes (you can omit these)
- 10 ½ oz tomato passata I used Mutti
- 2 garlic cloves peeled
- 5 ¼ oz primo sale cheese or ricotta salata, mozzarella or feta
- Parmigiano reggiano grated - or vegetarian parmesan
- 1 teaspoon peperoncino flakes (optional)
- 2-3 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (you may need more as eggplant absorbs the oil)
- salt for pasta and to taste
- black pepper to taste
- basil leaves (for presentation)
- breadcrumbs as required
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180°C (355°F) and bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Wash the eggplants, cut them in half, and carefully scoop out the flesh, cutting it into small cubes. Set the hollowed shells aside.
- Boil the eggplant shells for about 5 minutes. Remove, drain, and let them cool. Keep the water simmering for cooking the pasta.
- In a non-stick pan, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Fry the whole garlic cloves until fragrant. Add the cubed eggplant flesh and cook until it starts to brown.
- Remove the garlic cloves, add the cherry tomatoes and peperoncino flakes if using, and cook until the tomatoes start to soften. Stir in the tomato passata and season with salt and pepper. Simmer for 15-20 minutes. Add the primo sale cheese to the eggplant and tomato sauce.
- Meanwhile cook the pasta in the same boiling water used for the eggplant shells until al dente, according to the package instructions.
- Drain the pasta and mix thoroughly with the eggplant and tomato sauce.
- Fill each eggplant shell with the pasta. Grease a baking dish (or line it with baking paper) and place the stuffed eggplants on it. Sprinkle them generously with grated Parmigiano Reggiano and breadcrumbs.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown and crispy.
- Serve the eggplant boats immediately, garnished with fresh basil leaves.
Notes
This recipe calls for Sicilian anelletti/anelli pasta rings. If those are not available, you could use other small pasta such as orzo or very small pasta shells.
If you have leftover pasta and sauce it will keep in the fridge for a day or two and you can bake it or heat in the microwave for another meal (we bake ours!)
Parmigiano Reggiano and Primo Sale cheese aren't vegetarian because they are made with animal rennet. To make this recipe vegetarian, use vegetarian parmesan and mozzarella.
Omit the cheeses or substitute them with vegan cheese alternatives to make this recipe vegan.
Substitute the anelletti pasta with a gluten-free pasta variety to make this recipe gluten-free.
Nutrition
Calories: 388kcal | Carbohydrates: 57g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 19mg | Sodium: 64mg | Potassium: 1074mg | Fiber: 10g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 768IU | Vitamin C: 21mg | Calcium: 128mg | Iron: 3mg