Essential · 1 h 30 min · Serves 4
Baked stuffed eggplant with tomato, pancetta and provolone
Illustrative image generated with AI, not a photo of the cooked dish.
Kitchen test pending
The same root as the Hasselback eggplant of the family: eggplant roasted until creamy, tomato, crisp pancetta, garlic and melted provolone. This version goes back to the best-known home-cooking format, the eggplant cut in half, hollowed out and stuffed with its own flesh.
The twist is to treat the filling like a thick sauce. The flesh is sautéed with the pancetta and garlic and cooked with tomato until no liquid is left, so the filling is dense and flavorful and the shell does not get soggy. The provolone gratinates on top with breadcrumbs, and a quick parsley and lemon gremolata adds freshness at the end.
Special equipment: baking dish that fits 8 halves
Ingredients
Eggplants
- 4 medium eggplants, 250–300 g each
- 30 ml olive oil
- Fine salt and black pepper
Tomato and pancetta filling
- 150 g pancetta, in small cubes
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped
- 400 g crushed tomatoes or ripe plum tomatoes, chopped
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 pinch of crushed chili flakes, optional
- 1 pinch of sugar, only if the tomato is acidic
- 40 g breadcrumbs
- Fine salt and black pepper
Gratin
- 200 g provolone, in thin slices or coarsely grated
- 2 tablespoons breadcrumbs
- A drizzle of olive oil
Gremolata
- 3 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
- Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Method
Eggplants
- Roasting. Heat the oven to 200 °C (390 °F). Cut the eggplants in half lengthwise, keeping the stem. With the tip of a knife, score the flesh in a diamond pattern without cutting through the skin, leaving 1 cm free at the edge. Brush with the oil, season and place cut side down on a tray lined with parchment paper. Bake 25–30 minutes, until the flesh is very tender and sinks when the skin is pressed.
- Hollowing. Let cool slightly and scoop out the flesh with a spoon, leaving a wall of 0.5–1 cm so the shell holds up. Chop the flesh coarsely.
Tomato and pancetta filling
- Pancetta. Put the pancetta in a cold pan and bring to medium heat for 6–8 minutes, until it releases its fat and is golden. Remove half, which is set aside for the top, and leave the rest in the pan.
- Sofrito and sauce. In the same fat, cook the onion 6–8 minutes, until translucent, and add the garlic for 1 minute. Add the chopped flesh, tomato, oregano and chili, and cook over medium heat for 12–15 minutes, stirring, until no liquid remains and the mixture pulls away from the bottom. Taste and adjust the salt, pepper and, if needed, sugar. Off the heat, add the breadcrumbs: it should be a thick filling that holds on the spoon.
Gratin
- Filling and oven. Arrange the shells in the dish, fill them with the mixture and cover with the provolone, the reserved pancetta, the breadcrumbs and a drizzle of oil. Bake at 200 °C (390 °F) for 15–20 minutes, until the cheese is melted and golden at the edges; if they were stuffed ahead and are cold, 25–30 minutes, until the center is piping hot.
Gremolata
- Mixing. Mix the parsley, zest and oil right before serving.
The dish
Use wide, hot flat plates. Set two halves per person, slightly crossed or side by side, with the stem pointing outward, and spoon around them the tomato juice left in the dish. Finish with the gremolata over the cheese, in a line down the center of each half. Final look: dark purple boats with golden, bubbling cheese, dots of crisp pancetta, the red of the tomato at the edges and the green of the gremolata.
Key points
- Roast the eggplants until very tender before hollowing them.
- Leave a wall of 0.5–1 cm so the shell does not break.
- Cook the filling until no liquid is left.
- Reserve half the pancetta for the top, so it stays crisp.
- Gratinate until the center is hot, not just until the cheese is golden.
Pairing
A Sangiovese or a young Bonarda. Without alcohol, sparkling water with lemon and basil.
Notes
- Vegetarian: replace the pancetta with 100 g of sautéed mushrooms and a little smoked paprika.
- Reheating: if stuffed the day before, the center must reach 74 °C (165 °F) in the oven.