Eggplant recipe from Majorca

Stuffed eggplant recipe

This eggplant recipe is an authentic Mediterranean delight. Catalan and Majorcan cuisines have lots of delicious eggplant recipes of medieval inspiration. On the island this stuffed eggplant recipe is indeed a popular festive meal.

The oldest stuffed aubergine recipe of Europe appears in the medieval Catalan cookbook Libre de Sent Soví, from the XIV century. Fortunately, Majorcan and Catalan cuisines have kept alive until today succulent eggplant recipes of medieval origin like the one I am giving you below.

Ingredients for this eggplant recipe

• 2 medium-sized eggplants
• 1/2 medium size onion - grated
• 2 medium-sized ripe tomatoes
• 2 cloves garlic - peeled and finely chopped
• 7 ounces ground beef or ground beef and pork mixed
• breadcrumbs
• 1 egg yolk
• Olive oil
• 1 handful fresh flat-leaf Italian parsley - finely chopped
• Salt and pepper

Scooping out the flesh for the eggplant recipe

Filling the eggplant halves

How to prepare this eggplant recipe

1. Wash the eggplants thoroughly, and remove the green caps, but do not peel the eggplants. Cut them in half lengthwise, and make some incisions into the pulp of the eggplant halves with a knife's point.


2. Sprinkle the eggplants with salt, place them in a colander and let them rest for at least half an hour, longer if you have time.


3. In the meantime, scald the tomatoes, peel and grate them, and set them aside.


4. Bring water to a boil in a large pot; plunge the eggplants halves in the water and cook them for fifteen minutes. The water should cover the eggplants completely. When they are white, they are just right. Drain them well, and let them cool for a moment.


5. Carefully scoop out the pulp of the eggplant halves with a spoon, making sure not to perforate or break the skins. Try to scoop out almost all the flesh from the eggplant halves, because if you leave too much pulp on the skins, the different ingredients used in this eggplant recipe will not merge near as perfectly.


6. Chop the pulp into small bits, and set it aside. Now season the ground meat with salt and pepper.


7. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a saucepan. Add the grated onion, and saute over low heat until it is translucent. Add the seasoned ground meat, the grated tomatoes, and the finely chopped garlic cloves. Cook for fifteen minutes stirring constantly. Then add the chopped eggplant pulp and the parsley and continue stirring. Cook for five to ten more minutes over low heat until the meat is tender. Remove the saucepan from the heat. Add the egg yolk to the mixture and mix well. Adjust salt if Necessary.


8. Stuff the eggplant skins with the mixture and sprinkle a fine layer of breadcrumbs over the stuffed eggplant boats. Drizzle some olive oil over the bottom of a flat baking dish and distribute the oil uniformly. Place the eggplant boats on it and grill in the preheated oven for about five minutes until the breadcrumbs tops are slightly golden.

Mediterranean meal ideas with eggplants

Eggplants are said to be an aphrodisiac Mediterranean food, and in the harems of the Ottoman Empire cooks prepared one eggplant recipe after another. Some boasted up to fifty different aubergine recipes that they paired with the most elaborate dishes and mouthwatering sweets.