Mozzarella‑filled Eggplant

Ingredients

• 2 Eggplants
• Salt
• 2 Handfuls Basil
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 60 g pitted black olives
• pepper (ground)
• Lemon juice
• 200 g Cherry tomatoes
• 2 balls mozzarella (125 g each)

Instructions

1. 1.

   Wash the eggplants, cut them lengthwise in half and scoop out the flesh with a spoon. Salt the halves and let them sit to draw out water. Dice the scooped flesh into ~1 cm cubes and sprinkle with salt. Rinse the basil leaves and finely chop; set aside about half. Rinse the diced eggplant, pat dry, and sauté in hot olive oil for 3–4 minutes while stirring. Remove from heat, take about half of the mixture, and blend with the drained olives until smooth. Mix back in the remaining pieces and season with salt, pepper, and lemon juice.

2. 2.

   Preheat the oven to 200 °C (400 °F) with upper and lower heating. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

3. 3.

   Rinse the tomatoes and halve them. Drain the mozzarella and cube it. Rinse the eggplant halves, pat dry, and place them on the baking sheet. Spoon the olive‑eggplant cream into each half, arrange the tomato halves on top, and press lightly. Sprinkle mozzarella over the tomatoes and grind pepper on top. Bake for 25–30 minutes.

4. 4.

   Serve by arranging the stuffed halves on a plate and sprinkling the remaining basil over them.