Stuffed eggplants with beef and mozzarella
Ingredients:
4 small eggplants
250 g of beef or veal for stew
2 stalks of spring onion
1 grated carrot
1 handful of cocktail tomatoes
1 clove of garlic
2-3 tablespoons finely chopped parsley and oregano
1 teaspoon of dried parsley
1 teaspoon of dried oregano
Salt and pepper
1 mozzarella ball
Olive oil
Preparation:
Wash the eggplants and shorten the green part at the bottom of the stem. Guiding you by their natural lying position, peel a strip of 1 cm lengthwise on the upper side. Then insert the blade of a knife 1 cm deep and cut along the entire length (just 1 cm deep). Wrap the eggplants in aluminum foil and place them on a large ovenproof tray, lined with baking paper. Bake the 4 packages at 200°C for 30 minutes or until the eggplants are soft to the touch.
Remove the foil and cut again the length of the peeled strip with a knife. Then push your fingers into the slit and while pressing the flesh, push it to the sides, making some sort of boat. Brush the inside and outside of the eggplants with olive oil. Salt and pepper.
To make the stuffing, cook the finely chopped onion and garlic clove in a drizzle of oil over medium heat. Add the beef (finely chopped in advance) and the carrot. Stir fry until the meat’s color changes. Season with salt, pepper, oregano and parsley. Stuff the 4 eggplants with this mixture.
Cut the cocktail tomatoes and mozzarella into slices and overlap them along the length of the eggplants (alternate cheese and tomato). Preheat the oven to 200°C and cook the eggplants for about 40 minutes.