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stuffed aubergine half with mozzarella, tomato and basil
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Stuffed Aubergines with Mozzarella & Tomato

Halved aubergines stuffed with a rich tomato-aubergine & caper sauce, layered with breadcrumbs, pecorino, thyme and mozzarella. A delicious vegetarian main or side dish.
Course Salads & Sides, Savoury, Summer
Cuisine Italian
Keyword aubergine, mozzarella, tomatoes, vegetable
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Author Izy Hossack

Ingredients

  • 2 medium aubergines
  • olive oil , for drizzling

Tomato Filling:

  • salt
  • 1 shallot (or 1/2 small onion), finely diced
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 200 g (7 ounces or ~4 medium) tomatoes, roughly diced
  • 2 cloves garlic , crushed
  • 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tbsp capers (optional)
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste

Breadcrumb mixture

  • 60 g coarse, dry breadcrumbs or 4 Ryvita dark rye breads
  • 25 g (1/2 cup) Pecorino or Parmesan cheese, grated
  • 2 tsp olive oil
  • 3 sprigs thyme , leaves picked
  • black pepper

For layering

  • 125 g ball fresh mozzarella , drained and diced
  • fresh basil/thyme leaves for garnish

Instructions

  • Preheat your oven to 180°C fan (350°F).
  • Cut the aubergines in half down their lengths. Use a spoon to scoop out the centre flesh of the aubergine leaving a 1cm thick border. Save the flesh for later.
    2 medium aubergines
  • Place the aubergine halves on a baking tray, cut side up, and drizzle with some olive oil. Use a pastry brush or your fingers to spread it around over the cut surface of the aubergine and sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Bake for ~20 minutes until soft.
    olive oil, salt

Make tomato-aubergine filling:

  • Roughly chop up the aubergine flesh from earlier.
  • Heat a large non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Add the chopped aubergine flesh and a pinch of salt to the dry pan. Cook until the aubergine has shrunk and is starting to brown then add 1 tbsp olive oil and cook for a few minutes more to help the aubergine soften.
    1 tbsp olive oil
  • Add the shallot and cook, stirring, until translucent (~5 minutes). Next stir in the tomato and garlic. Finally stir in the balsamic vinegar, capers and tomato paste. Take it off the heat and set aside.
    1 shallot, 200 g (7 ounces or ~4 medium) tomatoes, roughly diced, 2 cloves garlic, 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar, 1 tbsp capers, 2 tbsp tomato paste

Mix breadcrumbs:

  • If using ryvita rye breads, pop them into a sandwich bag and bash them up until broken down to the size of small breadcrumbs. Mix the ryvita crumbs (or breadcrumbs) with the pecorino, olive oil, thyme leaves and a few grinds of black pepper in a bowl and set aside.
    60 g coarse, dry breadcrumbs, 25 g (1/2 cup) Pecorino or Parmesan cheese, grated, 3 sprigs thyme, black pepper, 2 tsp olive oil

Assemble and bake:

  • Take your baked aubergine halves from earlier. Place a spoonful of the tomato mixture into the base of each half and spread out into an even layer. Top with a layer of diced mozzarella and a layer of the ryvita mixture. Repeat this layering once more to use all the remaining tomato/mozzarella/breadcrumb mixture.
    125 g ball fresh mozzarella
  • Drizzle with a bit of olive oil and bake for a further ~30 minutes until the cheese has melted and they're golden and bubbling.
  • Sprinkle with some fresh thyme/basil if you like and serve hot.
    fresh basil/thyme leaves for garnish