Corsican-Style Stuffed Eggplant Boats

Known in French as Aubergines à la Bonifacienne, these cheesy stuffed eggplant boats are a specialty from the town of Bonifacio, at the Southern tip of the island of Corsica, in France. As with many traditional recipes from the island, they features wonderful Mediterranean flavors, all while making  great use of leftover bread and cheese. They’re plump, cheesy, satisfying and a perfect Summer dish.

A home-cook’s favorite

You’ll find these stuffed eggplant boats served in most restaurants of the town of the Bonifacio. But they’re also a home-cook’s favorite, as it is an amazingly delicious and simple recipe to make at home too.

The eggplants are boiled, the flesh is then scooped out, chopped and mixed with milk-soaked bread, eggs, fresh basil and cheese, and then stuffed back into the skin, before getting fried up on both sides, until brown and crisp. 

A great Summer recipe for your repertoire.

This is a great Summer eggplant recipe for your repertoire, with the perfect combination of cheese and basil.  As per tradition, you can enjoy it cold as a appetizer or warm for a main course, served with tomato sauce. And although this recipe is meatless, these stuffed eggplants make for a solid dish that’s both nutritious and satisfying.

Cooking notes: 

• The cheese traditionally used in the stuffing would be Tomme de Corse or Brocciu Passu– popular sheep’s milk cheeses from Corsica. But in my little kitchen in Canada, I often use grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino Romano as substitutes, which both work perfectly.

Bonifacio Stuffed Eggplant Boats

Print Recipe

Serves: 4 Prep Time: 30 minutes Cooking Time: 13 minutes 13 minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Rating: 4.1/5

( 12 voted )

Ingredients

3-4 slices (150g) of stale Pain de Mie (or any white stale bread)
1 cup (250ml) milk (2% or while) 
4 medium-size eggplants
1 large egg
2 cups (200g) grated cheese, such as grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino Romano
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
6-7 basil leaves, chopped (+ a few more leaves for serving) 
1 tsp Herbes de Provence
Salt, pepper to taste
3 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive oil, for frying
Optional, for serving: warm tomato sauce

Instructions

Soak the Pain de Mie in the milk for 10 minutes.

Bring a large pot of water to a simmer. Plunge the whole eggplants for 10 minutes. Drain and place on a tea towel to cool.

When cool enough to handle, cut the eggplants in half and carefully scoop out the flesh (be careful not to cut into the skin), using a serrated spoon or sharp knife. Lay each eggplant half onto a paper towel (cut side down), for the excess water to be absorbed.

Chop the eggplant flesh into small pieces, and combine with the pain de mie (drained), 1 egg, grated cheese, chopped garlic clove, chopped basil leaves and dried Herbes de Provence. Knead the mixture with your hands to obtain a dense filling.

Fill each eggplant “boat” evenly (they should be well packed) and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.

Heat up the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. In several batches, fry the eggplants (stuffed side down) for 7 minutes. Do not move the eggplants around, or the stuffing will crumble/fall apart. Flip the boats carefully, and fry (skin side down) for 4 minutes, until brown and crispy. 

Season with salt and serve immediately - on its own and with warm tomato sauce at the bottom. 

If you try this Bonifacio Stuffed Eggplant Boats recipe, let me know! Leave a comment or share a photo using #pardonyourfrench on Instagram.

Bon Appétit!

A recipe inspired by Stefan Gourmet and La Cuisine d’Agnes

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