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

You may also like: 

• Eggplant Caviar Dip 

The post Corsican-Style Stuffed Eggplant Boats appeared first on Pardon Your French.

These rustic-looking White Wine Almond Canistrelli biscuits are a local specialty hailing from L’Île de Beauté: the sun-kissed Island of Corsica.

Naturally vegan, delicately crunchy and best eaten after being dunked in coffee (or wine!).

The Story

Sturdy and nutitritious, these Canistrelli Biscuits are known to be favourites among Corsican sheppards and hikers alike, who pack a few of them while they venture in the Corsican maquis shrublands.

But they’re also sold everywhere in Corsica (bakeries and grocery stores) and consumed widely at any time of the day – for breakfast, dessert or as a snack.

They’re also favourites among home bakers because they come together in just a few minutes (although the baking time is not that quick) and great to use any leftover white wine that has been lingering in your fridge for too long.

The recipe

Canistrelli are made from wheat flour, sugar and white wine, to which you can add anis seeds (for the authentic version), almonds or lemon zest. Some other popular variations include hazelnuts, peanuts and chocolate chips, or even the use of chestnut flour (very popular in Corsica) instead of wheat.

This version, flavoured with almond extract and filled with almonds, is very reminiscent of Italian almond biscotti, although with a slightly softer interior.

They’re not too sweet and they’re deliciously crunchy (but not tooth-breaking), with a nice golden hue packed with almond flavour. I find that they also have a delectable “buttery” finish, which is quite surprising for naturally vegan biscuit (being made with no eggs, nor dairy).

Cooking notes:

• For the wine, choose a dry one so it doesn’t create too much sweetness or fruitiness (you still want the almond flavour to shine). You can also replace the wine with water.

If you try these White Wine Almond Canistrelli Biscuits from Corsica, let me know!  Leave a comment or share a photo using #pardonyourfrench on Instagram.

Bon Appétit!

White Wine Almond Canistrelli Biscuits from Corsica (vegan)

Print Recipe

Serves: 400g of biscuits Prep Time: 5-10 minutes Cooking Time: 30+20 minutes 30+20 minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Rating: 5.0/5

( 3 voted )

Ingredients

1 ¼ cup wheat flour (200g)
1 tsp baking powder (3g)
1/3 cup + 1 tbsp sugar (85g)
½ tsp salt
1/3 cup neutral-flavoured oil (such as colza)(70g)
1 - 2 teaspoons almond extract (depending on strong you like it)
¼ cup dry white wine (55g)
1/3 cup whole almonds (45g)

Instructions

Pre-heat your oven to 335F/170C.

In a big bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt.

Add in the oil and almond extract, and mix until you reach a crumbly texture.

Add in the white wine and mix until the dough comes together. Add in the almonds and mix again until incorporated. The dough should come together in a rough ball.

Divide the dough in two, and shape the two pieces into two 10” long logs. Flatten the logs very slightly with the palms of your hands.

Bake the logs for 30 minutes. Take out of the oven (leave the oven on) and let the logs cool down for 2O minutes. Slice the logs into 1/3” slices and bake for an additional 20 minutes.

Recipe adapted and translated from La Cuisine de Bernard.

Discover other recipes from Corse here. 

The post White Wine Almond Canistrelli Biscuits from Corsica (vegan) appeared first on Pardon Your French.

But on many levels, they are not so different, if you ask me. Both the Brittany and Corsican people are known to be proud, tremendously proud, of their origins, dialect and people. Both deeply attached to their roots and unique cultural heritage, these regions are usually the most distant thought that France is known for outside of its borders (forget the Eiffel tower, fancy pastries and snail-like delicacies). Both Corsican and Breton cuisine – and landscapes – are wild, rugged and sourced from the root – wild shrubs, goats and pigs from the Corse Island. Salted sea, cows and pigs, for the Brittany side. And if you ask someone from either of these regional tribes if they are French, they will probably tell you they are Corsican or Breton, first and foremost.

With its soft texture, delicate notes of anise and licorice, and uncharacteristic appearance, the Caccavellu is deeply anchored into the rustic Corsican culinary landscape and is an inevitable Easter tradition. “Caccavellu” also known under the variations “caccavelli”, “caccaveddu”, “cacavellu” or “campanile di Pasqua”, which testifies of the eloquent multiplicity of Corsican dialects, still used nowadays.

Old Corsican tales say that this sweet bread marked the end of Easter Lent. The eggs not consumed during this period of fasting were used to create this dense and nutritious Caccavellu crown. And the odd tradition of placing whole hard eggs (in their shells) in the dough remained. The eggs are meant to be consumed by the children or during the traditional Easter Monday picnic, in the Corsican maquis shrubland. 

With the Corse island being a land of pigs and bores, it is no surprise that most versions of the Caccavellu are made with lard as a fat base. Lard being a less common baking ingredient here in North America, I opted for vegetable shortening, which I believe produced a similarly rich, yet soft texture. 

The traditional Caccavellu recipe also calls for Pastis, the famous Mediterranean anise liquor. But with this French staple being hard to find and pricey here in North America, I tweaked the recipe a bit and added instead two heaping teaspoons of freshly ground fennel seeds. The sweet, grassy flavor and delicate notes of licorice were just as fragrant and delicious. As simple and rustic as this recipe is, it truly makes for a perfect Easter Sunday Brunch delicacy – enjoyed on its own or with some butter and jam.

Corsican Easter Crown (Caccavellu)

Print Recipe

Serves: 12 Prep Time: 3 Hours Cooking Time: 40 Minutes 40 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Rating: 5.0/5

( 2 voted )

Ingredients

6 grams of yeast
2 tablespoon lukewarm water
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup white sugar
1 pinch of salt
¼ cup shortening (or ideally lard)
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons ground fennel

Instructions

In a small bowl, stir together the yeast and lukewarm water. Let it sit for 10 minutes, until it starts to foam.

In a mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar and salt. Add in two eggs, the shortening, the vanilla extract, the ground fennel and yeast mixture. Mix it all together (by hand or in a stand mixer, with the paddle attachment).

Knead the dough for 10 minutes, until it is smooth and not sticky. Shape the dough into a ball, cover with a cloth, and let it rest for 2 hours, at room-temperature. After 2 hours, it should have doubled in size.

Pre-head your oven to 375°F. Prepare a sheet of parchment paper on a large baking sheet.

Place the ball of dough on a working surface and divide it in two equal parts. Shape each part into two long logs (about 2.5” wide). Twist the two logs together and shape them into a crown. Place a raw egg (whole, in its shell) in the crease of a twist (make sure it holds nice and tight in between). 

Optional: Brush the crown lightly with some milk (for a golden, glossy finish).

Place the crown onto the baking sheet and place in the oven for 40 minutes. The raw egg will cook slowly and thoroughly.

Once lightly golden, take out of the oven and place on a cooling rack. Enjoy it warm or at room temperature.

Well wrapped in a cloth, the caccavellu can be kept up to 3 days.

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