Stuffed aubergines with rice: recipe and combination

The forced quarantine we have been experiencing for two months now has brought us more and more in touch with cooking and flavours. Of course there are still those who insist on eating ready-made things, but I am convinced that everyone, but really everyone, cooks more. L'online wine shop Wine Kiss You asked me to create a recipe for the Franciacorta Brut 'Francesco I' of the cellar Uberti. The greengrocer delivered some really beautiful aubergines yesterday and Francesco loves them... so I decided to make the most of this delicious ingredient.  'Less is more'less is more' was not only the rationalist manifesto of Adolf Loos, but should be an inspiration in everything we do... especially in the kitchen! That's why, every time I develop a recipe, I give myself a maximum of eight ingredients, including seasonings. Doesn't that seem so few? Try counting them... my baked rice-filled aubergines have 8 ingredients just right to enhance them!

What do you need for cooking?

• 1 electric oven
• 1 kettle
• 1 aluminium bowl
• 1 mini-pimer/blender
• 1 cutting board
• 1 non-stick frying pan
• 1 baking tray
• a silicone spatula
• some cutlery...

Rice-filled aubergines in the oven: my easy recipe

1. Wash the aubergine and dry it with a paper towel.
2. Cut the whole aubergine in half.
3. Turn on the oven in static mode at 150°C.
4. Slit one aubergine half with a sharp knife and scoop out the pulp, leaving about half a centimetre thick. Help yourself with a teaspoon if necessary. Repeat for the other half. Keep the pulp you are removing in a bowl.
5. Take a high-sided ceramic baking tray and cover it with baking paper. Place the two halves of the aubergine on it and sprinkle a few drops of oil with a spoon, then sprinkle a few grains of coarse salt on top. Bake for 30 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, coarsely chop the pulp with a knife and fry it in a non-stick pan with 1 tablespoon oil and a clove of garlic crushed with the palm of your hand. When it is soft, add a grating of integral salt and a tablespoon of chopped parsley. Over medium heat it will take about 10 minutes to be ready.
7. Remove the aubergine pulp and place it in the bowl from before. In the same pan add a tablespoon of oil and keep the garlic clove, which should not have blackened. If the garlic clove has blackened, put a new one in.
8. Roast the rice for 2/3 minutes on a medium heat, then deglaze with the wine. Meanwhile, heat 1 litre of vegetable stock in the kettle.
9. Proceed in the classic way to prepare the risotto, adding a little stock at a time and letting it absorb.
10. Blend the aubergine pulp with a ladle of stock. I obtained 200 g of aubergine cream.
11. When your risotto is about halfway cooked, add half of the aubergine cream you have obtained. Stir, add the last drop of stock and let it soak in for a couple more minutes. Now turn off the heat and stir in a knob of butter and 2 tablespoons of grated malga cheese. Hold the risotto slightly back, you will complete the cooking in the oven.
12. Take the aubergines in half and spread them with half of the remaining aubergine cream, then fill them with risotto and cover them with the last part of cream!
13. Sprinkle another tablespoon of grated cheese, some parsley and a pinch of chipotle. A drizzle of extra virgin olive oil... and place in a static oven preheated to 200°C for another 15 minutes.

Baked rice-filled aubergines are perfect with a sparkling wine because risotto, by its very nature, requires a bubble to degrease. Moreover, the delicate fragrance of the aubergine is enhanced by the effervescence! This is why it is the perfect dish for Uberti's Franciacorta Brut Francesco I! Vertical, very crisp, all too easy-drinking: one goblet pulls the other! It is a beautiful bright straw yellow with a fine and numerous perlage that forms an evanescent froth. The nose is fine and intense with notes of vanilla, bread crust, butter and lime blossom. In the mouth it is acidic, fresh and quite soft. It is not only perfect as an aperitif, but also accompanies the whole meal with class.

The first time I drank it was a few years ago in my favourite restaurant... the Tentazioni Restaurant which today is in Costa Volpino, son my beloved Lake Iseoat the Residence Bersaglio. This new taste reconfirmed to me its being a Franciacorta DOCG with excellent value for money.

Cheers

Chiara

Do you like aubergines? Try the recipe for my linguine with aubergine, prawns, shallots and oregano flowers!

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