Cooking Instructions
1.
In a skillet heat up
Extra-Virgin Olive Oil (2 Tbsp)
. Add
Onion (1/2)
and cook on low heat until onion is soft.
2.
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.
3.
Put a pot of water on the stove to boil. This will be for the eggplant skins.
4.
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.
5.
Drop the eggplant cups in the boiling water and cook them for 10 minutes.
6.
Chop up the internal part and place it in a skillet with
Extra-Virgin Olive Oil (2 Tbsp)
,
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.
7.
Next, we need to make the meatballs. Just gather the
Ground Pork (6.5 oz)
,
Egg (1)
,
Grated Parmesan Cheese (2 Tbsp)
,
Fresh Parsley (1 Tbsp)
,
Fresh Basil (1 Tbsp)
,
Breadcrumbs (1/3 cup)
,
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.
8.
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.
9.
Fry the meatballs until golden brown.
10.
Cook the
Fusilli Pasta (5.5 oz)
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 (1/3 cup)
.
11.
Preheat your oven to 390 degrees F (200 degrees C).
12.
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 (1 2/3 cups)
. Add some
Cherry Tomatoes (1 cup)
, a few leaves of
Fresh Basil Leaves (to taste)
, and the remaining
Grated Parmesan Cheese (10 tsp)
.
13.
Bake in preheated oven for about 20-30 min or until golden in color and cheese is melted.
14.
Remove from the oven and let your casserole dish cool down for 10-15 min. This is best served warm with cheese still running, but not super hot.