Heat oven to 200°C. Cut each eggplant in half lengthwise. Use a paring knife to outline a 1.5cm border all around the eggplant half, then use a spoon to remove the eggplant flesh, to create boats out of the eggplant halves. Rub each half with a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Arrange halves cut sides up in a baking dish, and roast until eggplant is tender and browned at edges, about 25 to 30 minutes. Leave oven on.
Make the filling: Chop the scooped-out eggplant flesh into about 1.5cm chunks and set aside.
Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until translucent. Then add garlic and cook for 1 minute.
Add chopped eggplant, season the mixture well with salt and black pepper, and cook, until eggplant is soft.
Add 1/2 cup of prepared passata and a bit of the basil and warm through. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed. Remove from heat and mix in half the fior di latte and parmesan.
Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling water, cook pasta for about 10 minutes or until almost cooked; drain and set aside.
ASSEMBLE & FINISH
When eggplant boats are soft, remove them briefly from their dish and pour remaining 1 cup prepared passata in the bottom and stir remaining basil into it.
Arrange eggplant boats back in the dish and stuff them with as much filling as you can (you’ll probably have a little extra which can be baked in a smaller dish).
Sprinkle stuffed eggplants with remaining fior di latte and parmesan. Drizzle a teaspoon of oil and pinch of salt over the breadcrumbs and stir to evenly coat the crumbs, then sprinkle them over the cheese.
Bake stuffed eggplants for 10 minutes, just to marry the flavors, and then run under your grill until brown and blistered on top.
CHECK OUT OUR FIOR DI LATTE THAT WAS USED IN THIS RECIPE
