Melanzane Ripiene Calabrese

What I love most about the blog, is being able to share recipes that family members may have lost. Melanzane Ripiene Calabrese is an old recipe that my nonna made and my mom continues to make. we have them on Christmas Eve. They are meatless and delicious.

A childhood friend, Angela Bonfierro asked for this recipe a while ago. Her mom and my nonna knew each other and are from the same area of Italy. I love this dish both hot and cold. It is simple and the true Calabrian flavours come out in every bite. I am a bit disappointed with the eggplants this time of year. Vegetables that are transported have a tendency to freeze and you can see this when I sliced the eggplant.

These were extra large eggplants. I like to buy the smaller ones, but the pandemic has made us adjust to what is available at the store. I used stale bread and bread crumbs in my recipe, but you can just use bread crumbs if you like.

One of my favourite eggplant recipes on the blog https://recipesatmytable.com/the-best-grilled-eggplant-parmigiana/

Ingredients

1 large eggplant or 6 small ones cut in half
4 slices day old bread ( sliced)
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated parmigiano reggiano
1 egg
1/2 cup hot water from the boiled egg plant
1/2 cup marinara sauce (filling)
2 cups marinara sauce ( for cooking)
2 tbsp minced parsley
1 or 2 cloves of garlic
Salt and pepper
olive oil
Calabrese oregano

Process

Wash the eggplants and cut in half. Place in boiling water and simmer for 8 minutes with the lid on. You want the pulp to soften.

Remove the eggplants and cool. Now using a fork, remove all the pulp. Try to take out as much of the seeds as you can.

In a medium bowl slice the bread, add the crumbs, the cheese and parsley.

To this now add the warm eggplant pulp and the warm water. Mix and let cool.Now add in your egg and minced garlic. Follow with the 1/2 cup of marinara and mix.