Eggplant and Ricotta Patties with Tomatoes

Since I tried this recipe for the first time, several weeks ago, I've been making it at least once a week. It's become one of my favourite recipes when it comes to eggplants. Soft and creamy interior of these patties is full of delicious, summer flavours and scents.
I often make it at lunchtime for myself, and then serve what's left for dinner as a side dish.
Lots of people don't like eggplants, but I keep thinking it's just because they are often prepared in a non-appetizing way. Eggplants have this bad characteristics of drinking lots of oil if given a chance, and therefore often result as soggy and greasy food, although some people will this is exactly why they're delicious.
Instead, if prepared in a lighter, more dietetic way (like you'll see in this recipe), they result (for me) much more delicious and tastier.
It is also a key for using better their nutricional properties. Thanks to some bitter substances they contain, eggplants stimulate the bile function and help eliminate the excess colesterol in our blood.
Moreover, due to good quantity of magnesium and zinc they help better functioning of digestive system and therefore help eliminate more toxins from our body.

Eggplant and Ricotta Patties with Tomatoes

* 1 medium sized eggplant (about 400 g)
* 100 g ricotta cheese
* 1 egg
* 50 g semi-hard cheese of your choice (I used scamorza, which is dried mozzarella)
* about 60 g breadcrumbs
* 1 teaspoon finely chopped parsley
* a handful of basil leaves
* 1 big ripe tomatoe (or several small ones)
* 1 teaspoon dried oregano
* extra virgin olive oil
* salt, pepper

Wash and dry the eggplant. Place it on a baking dish lined with parchment paper and bake in an oven preheated to 160°C for about 40 minutes.
Let it cool a little bit, then peel the skin by pulling it off, cut into pieces and leave in a colander to drain for about 1/2  hour. Squeeze the pulp with your hands to help it lose some liquid and become quite dry.
Process the pulp in the food processor until smooth.
Mix the pureed pulp with the egg, the ricotta cheese, the semi hard cheese cut into small pieces, parsley and chopped basil. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Mix well and then add enough breadcrumbs to get a mixture that is soft, but still firm enough to be able to form patties.
Shape the mixture into 6-8 patties big as a palm of your hand and about 1 cm thick.
Place them on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
Place a slice of tomato on top of each, sprinkle with oregano and drizzle with EVOO.

Bake in an oven preheated to 190°C for about 20 minutes.
Serve them warm or cold, as a main or side dish. They would make a great sandwich, too.

Schiacciatine di melanzane e ricotta con pomodori


* 1 melanzana media (circa 400 g)
* 100 g di ricotta
* 1 uovo
* 50 g di scamorza
* circa 60 g di pangrattato
* 1 cucchiaino di prezzemolo tritato
* una manciata di foglie di basilico fresco
* 1 pomodoro maturo grande (o 2-3 piccoli)
* 1 cucchiaino di origano secco
* Olio extra vergine d'oliva
* sale e pepe


Lavate la melanzana e cuocetela intera nel forno riscaldato a 170°C per circa 40 minuti, girandola più volte in modo che possa cuocere uniformemente da tutti i lati.
Togliete la melanzana dal forno, lasciatela raffreddare un po' e poi sbucciatela, tagliatela a pezzi e mettetela in un colino a colare per mezz'ora. Aiutatavi schiacciando la polpa con le mani per renderla abbastanza asciutta e poi frullatela finemente.
Mescolate la polpa frullata con la ricotta, l'uovo, la scamorza tagliata a pezzettini, il prezzemolo tritato e le foglie di basilico spezzettate. Salate e pepate a piacere. Aggiungete il pangrattato, quanto basta per poter formare delle palline, ma l'impasto deve rimanere comunque abbastanza morbido e umido.
Formate circa 6-8 schiacciatine grandi come la propria mano e adagiatele sulla placca da forno coperta con carta da forno.
Tagliate il pomodoro a fettine e mettete una su ogni schiacciatina. Cospargetele con l'origano e poco olio e cuocete nel forno già caldo per circa 20 minuti.
Potete servirle sia calde che fredde, come secondo, accompagnandole con un’insalatina fresca oppure come contorno.

Polpete od patlidžana s ricottom i rajčicama


* 1 srednje veliki patlidžan (oko 400 g)
* 100 g ricotte
* 1 jaje
* 50 g polutvrdog sira
* oko 60 g krušnih mrvica
* 1 žličica nasjeckanog lista peršina
* svežnjić svježeg bosiljka
* 1 velika zrela rajčica (ili par manjih)
* 1 žličica suhog origana
* maslinovo ulje
* sol, papar


Operite i posušite patlidžan, pa ga ispecite cijelog u pećnici zagrijanoj na 170°C, oko 40 minuta. Okrećite ga tako da se ispeče ravnomjerno sa svih strana.
Ostavite patlidžan da se malo ohladi, pa ga ogulite, narežite na komade i ostavite pola sata u cjedilu da se ocijedi. Malo ga stišćite rukama da izgubi što više vode i dobijete prilično suho meso.
Izmiksajte ocijeđeni patlidžan (u multipraktiku ili štapnim mikserom), pa pomiješajte s ricottom, jajetom, nasjeckanim sirom, peršinom, iskidanim listićima bosiljka. Dodajte krušne mrvice (ovisno o veličini patlidžana, može vam trebati malo manje ili više - smjesa treba ostati dosta mekana, ali dovoljno gusta da se mogu oblikovati polpete). Posolite i popaprite po ukusu.
Od dobivene smjese oblikujte 6-8 polpeta (poput faširanih šnicli) i stavite ih na pleh obložen papirom za pečenje.
Na svaku polpetu stavite krišku rajčice, pospite s malo origana i maslinovog ulja i zapecite 20 minuta u pećnici zagrijanoj na 190°C.