Eggplant and peppers stuffed with my mom's meatball filling and simmered in tomato sauce until tender. This is my idea of the perfect fall dinner! Serve the tomato sauce with your favorite pasta as a first course to complete this delicious meal.This is one of those dishes that my mother prepares once a year, usually at the end of September or early October. Just imagine a pot bubbling away, filled with stuffed vegetables simmering in a fragrant tomato sauce with a few potato wedges tossed in. Tomato sauce with potatoes? Definitely! It is not uncommon for my mom to toss a potato or two in her sauce, and sometimes even a hard boiled egg. A must try if you haven't before.
When my father was still with us, my parents would head out to local farms in search of eggplant, peppers and tomatoes to supplement what they grew in their garden. These were transformed into pickled eggplant; pickled hot peppers; caponata and roasted peppers. And then, my favorite, a hearty meal of these stuffed eggplant and peppers in tomato sauce.
This recipe is perfect except for...
This recipe is almost complete, except for the meter long cucuzza, which is a variety of squash. Just like the ones that my father so carefully grew in his garden, creating a trestle to support them. These long, snake like cucuzza were the pride and joy of his garden. Can you tell by the photo below?
The cucuzza was hollowed out, stuffed and added to the tomato sauce along with the other vegetables. But alas, I have not attempted to grow any cucuzza myself and since it is not easily found in our local markets I had to omit it from my recipe. But if you're lucky enough to grow some, please do include it in this recipe!
How to serve Stuffed Eggplant and Peppers in Tomato Sauce:
The filling for the veggies consists of my mother's meatball recipe in which half the ground meat is replaced by the flesh of the hollowed out eggplant. Although the recipe is more labor intensive that your average pasta with meatball recipe, it is well worth the effort.
You'll be rewarded to a plentiful, complete meal. Begin with a bowl of pasta tossed with the tomato sauce that you stewed the vegetables in followed by the stuffed veggies as your second course. And of course, don't forget the fresh bread in order to do 'la scarpetta'. That is to soak up the delicious sauce on the bottom of your plate!
Step by Step Instructions:
Prepare the eggplant and peppers:
Use baby eggplant for the perfect individual portion size. Wash and dry the eggplant well or they will splatter in the hot oil later on. Trim off the stem and use a fork to hollow out the inside of the eggplant by twisting the fork in a circular motion around the edge of the eggplant. Remove the flesh, chop and set aside.For the peppers: I used cubanelle peppers. Wash, dry, cut off the stem and as many seeds as you can remove by reaching in with a spoon to scoop them out.
Prepare the meatball filling:
Roughly chop the eggplant flesh and sauté in a medium sized pan in olive oil until soft, about 5 minutes.
In a large bowl, combine all ingredients for the meatball filling, that is the ground meat; fresh breadcrumbs; grated Parmigiano/Pecorino Romano cheeses; garlic; parsley; eggs and salt and pepper. Remember to reduce the amount of ground meat to 225 grams. Add the cooked eggplant flesh and stir all ingredients to combine well.
Stuff the eggplant and peppers:
Use your fingers to fill the eggplant and peppers. Do not fill until the top and do not pack the filling too tight or it will ooze out when cooking. If you happen to have extra meatball filling, shape into small meatballs.
To cook:
Add oil to a wide, deep pan and place the vegetables filling side down to brown them. Brown all sides, about two minutes each side. Remove from the pan and set aside on a plate. Add quartered potatoes and extra meatballs (if you have any) to the pan and brown on all sides. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Add a slivered garlic clove to the pan with the drippings, after a minute add tomato passata (tomato purée) and a cup of water to the pan. Simmer for about 10 minutes, then nestle the vegetables, potatoes and meatballs (if any) in the sauce. Add enough water to submerge the vegetables, keeping in mind that the eggplant will float on the surface of the sauce therefore will not remain completely submerged. I added about 2 cups of water.
Add salt, to taste, a pinch of red pepper flakes (optional) and simmer partially covered for two hours or until the vegetables and potatoes are tender. Some of the cooking liquid will have evaporated, therefore the vegetables will no longer be completely submerged in sauce.
To serve:
Use a slotted spoon to transfer the stuffed vegetables, potatoes and meatballs to a large serving plate. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook pasta of your choice. Toss the pasta with the tomato sauce in the pan and serve as a first course. Serve the stuffed vegetables as a second course and don't forget the bread!
Tips and suggestions:
- If you're lucky enough to have access to cucuzza, cut into approximate 3 inch lengths, hollow the pieces as I did for the eggplant. Stuff with the meatball filling and proceed with the recipe as outlined above.
- I enjoy using cubanelle peppers for this recipe due to their sweetness, however if you can't find any bell peppers can be substituted.
- Depending on the size of your eggplant and peppers, you may have extra meatball mixture. Shape into a few meatballs, brown them and add to the sauce.
- This recipe can be transformed into a vegetarian recipe by omitting the meat and replacing it with extra fresh breadcrumbs for the meatball filling.
- Leftover stuffed eggplant and peppers keep well in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Any leftover sauce may also be frozen for up to 3 months.
This fall treat yourself to a hearty and flavorful meal of stuffed eggplant and peppers in tomato sauce. If you try out this recipe, let me know how much you enjoyed it by rating it in the recipe card below. Feel free to Pin the recipe for later. Buon appetito!
Ingredients
- 4 baby eggplant
- 4 cubanelle peppers
- 1 best Italian meatball recipe follow the recipe for the meatballs (without the tomato sauce) and reduce the amount of ground meat to 225 grams (½ lb)
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 2-3 potatoes peeled and cut into wedges
- 1 garlic clove slivered
- 2 cups tomato passata (tomato purée)
- pinch red pepper flakes (optional)
- ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
For serving (option)
- package of pasta of your choice cooked
Instructions
Prepare the eggplant and peppers:
- Wash and dry the eggplant well, or they will splatter in the hot oil later on. Trim off the stem and use a fork to hollow out the inside of the eggplant twisting the fork in a circular motion around the edge of the eggplant. Remove the flesh, chop and set aside.For the peppers, wash, dry, remove the stem and as many seeds as you can remove by reaching in with a spoon to scoop them out.
- Roughly chop the eggplant flesh and sauté in a medium sized pan with about 2 tablespoon olive oil until soft, about 5 minutes.
Prepare the meatball filling:
- In a large bowl, combine all ingredients for the meatballs, that is the ground meat; fresh breadcrumbs; grated Parmigiano/Pecorino Romano cheeses; garlic; parsley; eggs and salt and pepper. Remember to reduce the amount of ground meat to 225 grams. Add the cooked eggplant flesh and stir all ingredients to combine well.
Stuff the eggplant and peppers:
- Use your fingers to fill the eggplant and peppers. Do not fill until the top and do not pack the filling too tight or it will ooze out when cooking. If you happen to have extra meatball filling, shape into small meatballs.
To cook:
- Add oil to a wide, deep pan and place the vegetables filling side down to brown them. Brown all sides, about two minutes each side. Remove from the pan and set aside on a plate. Add quartered potatoes and extra meatballs (if you have any) to the pan and brown on all sides. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Add a slivered garlic clove to the pan with the drippings, after a minute add tomato passata (tomato purée) and a cup of water to the pan. Simmer for about 10 minutes, then nestle the vegetables, potatoes and meatballs (if any) in the sauce.
- Pour in enough water to submerge the vegetables, keeping in mind that the eggplant will float on the surface of the sauce therefore will not remain completely submerged. I added about 2 cups of water. Add salt, to taste, dried red pepper flakes (optional) and simmer partially covered for two hours or until the vegetables and potatoes are tender.
To serve:
- Use a slotted spoon to transfer the stuffed vegetables, potatoes and meatballs to a large serving plate. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook pasta of your choice. Dress the pasta with the tomato sauce in the pan and serve as a first course. Serve the stuffed vegetables as a second course.
Notes
- If you're lucky enough to have access to cucuzza, cut into approximate 3 inch lengths, hollow the pieces as I did for the eggplant. Stuff with the meatball filling and proceed with the recipe as outlined above.
- I enjoy using cubanelle peppers for this recipe due to their sweetness, however if you can't find any bell peppers can be substituted.
- Depending on the size of your eggplant and peppers, you may have extra meatball mixture. Shape into a few meatballs, brown them and add to the sauce.
- This recipe can be transformed into a vegetarian recipe by omitting the meat and replacing it with extra fresh breadcrumbs for the meatball filling.
- Leftover stuffed eggplant and peppers keep well in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Any leftover sauce may also be frozen for up to 3 months.
- Please note that the nutritional information provided is approximate and may vary according to ingredients used and exact portion size.
Nutrition
Anthony
Bon jornu, Nadia! When substituting bell peppers, do we brown the meat first before stuffing? Or do we stuff the peppers and cook in the passata? Is there a danger that the stuffing will not cook thoroughly, if doing so? Grazii. Anthony
Nadia
Hi Anthony, you do not need to cook the meat first. Just mix together all meatball ingredients and stuff the peppers. They simmer for a couple of hours in the sauce and cook thoroughly. Hope you enjoy!
Maria Rosa
Hello Nadia and thank you for these wonderful recipes! I can’t wait to try this one! When you say to reduce the amount of meat from the original meatball recipe, should he also reduce the rest of the meatball ingredients too (i.e., the cheese, eggs, breadcrumbs, etc.)?
Nadia
Hello Maria Rosa, you are quite welcome and thank you! So I basically reduced the meat down to 225 grams but I did use the same amount of cheese, breadcrumbs etc... I hope this is more clear but if you have any other questions please do not hesitate to reach out to me. Thank you and I hope you enjoy this recipe!