Abbuttunate technically means ‘‘stuffed’’

‘‘Milingiani mbuttunati’’

It takes little to make the eggplant mbuttunate and enjoy an excellent vegetarian second course. Inspired by the Calabrian tradition, they are a tasty dish to share for a family lunch.  Buttoned eggplant is a Calabrian recipe or the tasty and easy "Milingiani mbuttunati"! A recipe with eggplant very particular and rich in taste and Mediterranean aromas. Buttoned eggplant represent a poor dish of Calabrian cuisine, made with only three main ingredients: small eggplant, bread crumbs and tomato puree. Why buttoned up? Cuts are made on the eggplant as if they were buttonholes that will be filled with a mixture of flavored bread crumbs. A tasty sauce that invites you to "scarpeggiare", but which also proves to be an excellent condiment for spaghetti. Let's see together how to proceed to make the recipe of buttoned eggplant Calabrian easily. 😉

Ingredients

8 small eggplants

basil, parsley, mint to taste

salt pepper to taste

extra virgin olive oil to taste

half a red onion

About 250 (the quantity depends on the size of the eggplants) g breadcrumbs

700 ml Tomato puree

1 garlic clove if desired

Preparation

Wash and trim the eggplants. Drill 5/6 deep vertical cuts over the entire eggplant. In each slot insert a little salt with the help of the tip of a knife and let it rest in a colander for a whole night. After the time, wash the eggplants under running water to remove the salt and squeeze well. In a bowl add the bread, chopped garlic and herbs, season with salt and pepper and mix everything. In each cut insert the mixture of prepared bread, taking care to compact it to fill the eggplant. In a large pan pour plenty of extra virgin olive oil, heat slightly and arrange the eggplants. Fry over medium heat until they are soft about 10/15 minutes, turning them often with tongs. Drain and place on kitchen paper. In a large pot pour a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, brown the sliced onion, add a chili if you like, pour the tomato puree and cook for a few minutes. Place the eggplants in the sauce and continue cooking for another 20 minutes. Serve the buttoned eggplants with their sauce and slices of bread. The sauce is also an excellent condiment for pasta.