Meatball, Pasta, and Stracciatella Stuffed Eggplant

In a skillet heat up Extra-Virgin Olive Oil (30 mL) . Add Onion (1/2) and cook on low heat until onion is soft.

Pour in the bottle of Tomato Passata (1 bottle) , season with Salt (to taste) , Ground Black Pepper (to taste) , and Fresh Basil Leaves (3) . Cover with a lid and let cook on low heat for 2 hours. The sauce should be thick and flavourful.

Meanwhile using a rounded-tip knife, cut Eggplants (4) in half then curve out the internal part, leaving a few millimeters of thickness around the skin.

Chop up the internal part and place it in a skillet with Extra-Virgin Olive Oil (30 mL) , Garlic (1 clove) , Salt (to taste) , Ground Black Pepper (to taste) , and Fresh Basil Leaves (to taste) . Cook the filling on medium-high until softened.

Next, we need to make the meatballs. Just gather the Ground Pork (180 g) , Egg (1) , Grated Parmesan Cheese (10 g) , Fresh Parsley (3 g) , Fresh Basil (1 g) , Breadcrumbs (15 g) , Garlic (1 clove) , Salt (to taste) , Ground Black Pepper (to taste) to a bowl and mix them together, adding enough Milk (to taste) to get a soft but not sticky mixture.

Heat up a few inches of Frying Oil (as needed) on the stove (I used a deep fryer for this, which made it fast and hassle-free). While it's heating up roll the mixture into mini meatballs.

Cook the Fusilli Pasta (150 g) in boiling, salty water until al dente. Drain and dress with a few tbsp of the tomato sauce, the cooked diced eggplants and the Grated Parmesan Cheese (40 g) .

Now, on to assembling our casserole! Pour a few tbsp of tomato sauce at the bottom of your casserole dish, lay the eggplant cups, drizzle them with oil and a few tbsp of tomato sauce and fill them with pasta, a few meatballs and some Stracciatella Cheese (200 g) . Add some Cherry Tomatoes (150 g) , a few leaves of Fresh Basil Leaves (to taste) , and the remaining Grated Parmesan Cheese (20 g) .