Signature · about 55 minutes, much of it in the oven · Serves 4
Hasselback eggplant with roasted tomato, crisp pancetta, provolone, confit garlic and gremolata
Illustrative image generated with AI, not a photo of the cooked dish.
Kitchen test pending
The home-style baked eggplant stuffed with tomato, pancetta, cheese and garlic, in a more precise, contemporary version. The aim is an eggplant that is completely creamy inside, with caramelized edges, melted cheese and the alternating layers in view.
The twist is the accordion cut, like a Hasselback potato, and a method that guarantees doneness: a 3% brine seasons evenly and in a controlled way, and a first cook sealed in foil softens all the flesh before the gratin, which only colors and melts. A confit garlic adds sweetness, a light miso glaze brings shine and umami, the pancetta is browned separately so it stays crisp and a parsley and lemon gremolata gives the final freshness.
Special equipment: two chopsticks or thin skewers to guide the cut; aluminum foil
Ingredients
Eggplants
- 4 medium eggplants, 250–350 g each
- 2 liters cold water
- 60 g fine salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme or oregano
Confit garlic
- 12–16 garlic cloves, peeled
- Olive oil, enough to come halfway up their height (about 4–6 tablespoons)
Tomato
- 2 large, firm tomatoes, or 16–20 cherry tomatoes
- Salt, pepper, a few drops of olive oil and, for the large tomato, a few drops of wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar
Pancetta
- 160–200 g pancetta, in batons or small cubes
Glaze
- 2 tablespoons white miso
- 2 tablespoons of the confit garlic oil
- 2 tablespoons hot water
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon honey, optional
- 2 teaspoons pancetta fat, optional
Filling and gratin
- 240–320 g provolone, scamorza or another semi-hard cheese that melts well, in slices
Gremolata
- 4 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
- Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 garlic clove, very finely chopped, optional
- A pinch of salt and black pepper
Finishing
- 4 tablespoons panko or coarse breadcrumbs, optional
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
Method
Eggplants
- Cutting. Wash and dry the eggplants, keeping the stem on. Lay each one horizontally on the board, between two chopsticks or thin skewers that stop the knife, and make parallel crosswise cuts every 5–7 mm, deep but without separating the slices: it should form an accordion. Leave 1–1.5 cm intact near the stem.
- Brine. Dissolve the salt in the cold water —a 3% brine— and submerge the eggplants completely, with a plate on top because they float. Leave them 20–25 minutes, no more: the pancetta, cheese, miso and soy also add salt. Remove them and, without rinsing, pat them carefully dry with paper towels, including inside the cuts.
- Seasoning. Preheat the oven to 200 °C (390 °F). Gently separate the cuts, brush them inside with confit garlic oil and season with pepper, paprika and thyme or oregano. Spread a rustic paste made from 3–4 crushed confit garlic cloves between some of the cuts. Do not add salt.
- First cook. Wrap each eggplant in a fairly tight foil packet and bake at 200 °C (390 °F) for 20–25 minutes. This is the step that keeps them from being tough. To check doneness, open a packet and press the thickest part: it should be noticeably soft, and a knife should go in with very little resistance. If the center resists, close and continue 5–8 minutes. Do not move to the gratin before this point: the gratin colors and melts, it does not finish the cooking.
Confit garlic
- Confit. Put the garlic in a small pan with oil to half its height and cook over the lowest heat 8–12 minutes, without the oil frying hard, until tender, barely golden, sweet and with no burnt notes. Set aside the cloves and the flavored oil.
Tomato
- Cherry. Cut them in half, season with very little salt, pepper and a few drops of oil and roast at 200–210 °C (390–410 °F) for about 8–10 minutes, until they concentrate without turning into sauce.
- Large tomato. Cut it into small cubes, add a pinch of salt and let it sit 5 minutes; drain the liquid and season with a few drops of oil, pepper and vinegar. This keeps too much water from getting into the eggplant.
Pancetta
- Browning. Put the pancetta in a cold pan and bring to medium heat slowly, so the fat renders before the surface over-browns. Once golden and crisp, move it to paper towels and, if you like, reserve 2 teaspoons of its fat for the glaze. Do not put all the pancetta inside the eggplant: with the steam from the tomato and the cheese it will not stay crisp. Half is used at the end.
Glaze
- Emulsion. Mix the miso, garlic oil, hot water, soy and, if using, the honey and pancetta fat, to a light emulsion. Taste before salting: at first it should not be needed. It should be light: it brings shine, umami and depth, not sweetness.
Filling and gratin
- Filling. Take the eggplants out of the foil, now tender, brush the surface and the inside of some cuts sparingly with glaze and slip between the slices tomato, cheese, a few confit garlic cloves and half of the pancetta.
- Gratin. Raise the oven to 220 °C (430 °F) and gratinate the eggplants uncovered, on a tray, 8–12 minutes, until the cheese melts completely and some edges begin to caramelize. For a deeper finish, turn on the broiler for the last 1–2 minutes, watching constantly.
Gremolata
- Mixing. While gratinating, finely chop the parsley and mix with the zest, oil, pepper, salt and, if using, the garlic. The parsley goes in at the end, never in the long cooking, to keep its color, aroma and freshness.
Finishing
- Panko. If using, toast it quickly in a pan with the oil until golden.
- Resting. Let the eggplants rest only 2–3 minutes and add on top the reserved pancetta, a little gremolata, the panko and a few drops of the garlic oil.
The dish
Use wide dark ceramic or stone plates. Set the eggplant slightly off center and on a diagonal, with the accordion structure in view. Scatter around a little roasted tomato, a few confit garlic cloves, drops of glaze and of the flavored oil. Put the crisp pancetta mainly on the upper part, so it keeps its texture, and finish with a little gremolata and, just before serving, the toasted panko. Do not cover the eggplant with sauces: the alternation of eggplant, tomato and cheese should show. Final look: an accordion with caramelized edges and melted cheese between the slices, the red of the tomato, golden pancetta on top and the bright green of the gremolata.
Key points
- Cut with the chopsticks as a stop, so the slices do not separate.
- Do not extend the brine beyond 25 minutes or add salt afterward: the other ingredients already bring salt.
- Do not gratinate until the eggplant is completely soft at its thickest part.
- Brown the pancetta separately and save half for the end, so it stays crisp.
- Keep the glaze light: shine and umami, not sweetness.
Pairing
A young Bonarda or a lightly oaked Malbec, with fruit and freshness to go with the smokiness, cheese and pancetta without weighing the dish down. In white, a Chardonnay without excess oak or a dry Torrontés, whose aromatic intensity works with the parsley, lemon and garlic.
Notes
- No miso: replace it with 4 teaspoons honey, 4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce, 4 tablespoons olive oil, 4 teaspoons wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar and 4 tablespoons water.
- Another cheese: low-moisture mozzarella combined with 80–120 g of grated Parmesan-style cheese gives a soft melt and a more flavorful surface.
- Quick version: after the brine, dry, brush with garlic oil and season; cook in a microwave-safe dish, covered with a steam vent, 4–6 minutes on high, until soft. Fill, brush with glaze and gratinate in a very hot oven 8–10 minutes. It sacrifices very little and takes about 30–35 minutes.
- The original recipe was designed for 2 servings; this version doubles all the quantities.