{"id":755,"date":"2021-11-26T17:55:00","date_gmt":"2021-11-26T08:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.alphabendi.com\/?p=755"},"modified":"2021-11-26T18:10:15","modified_gmt":"2021-11-26T09:10:15","slug":"stephens-blog-43","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.alphabendi.com\/?p=755","title":{"rendered":"Stephen&#8217;s blog"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Dear Newsletter Readers,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Welcome to another edition of our weekly newsletter and I hope it finds you all well.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My contribution to this week\u2019s newsletter is based on some cooking that I did last weekend for my family.&nbsp; As a main dish for our evening meal last Saturday, I stuffed some aubergines green peppers and a couple of different types of mushrooms which were accompanied by roast potatoes and a green salad.&nbsp; I followed a Sicilian recipe for Melanzane ripiena (stuffed aubergene\/eggplant) that I (very loosely) carry around in my head.&nbsp; My interpretation of this dish is presented in the recipe and method of cooking below.&nbsp; This is a very easy and tasty dish to make, it\u2019s one of my favorites, so I hope you try it.&nbsp; Until next week, have a good weekend and continue to keep safe. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Melanzane ripiena (my version)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ingredients for the sausage meat stuffing<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>l&nbsp;&nbsp;500 grams of minced pork<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>l&nbsp;&nbsp;A handful (5~6) of medium sized mushrooms (I usually mix white and brown mushrooms&nbsp;\u2013&nbsp;finely chopped)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>l&nbsp;&nbsp;I small stick of celery (finely chopped)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>l&nbsp;&nbsp;1\/2 of a medium sized white onion (finely chopped)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>l&nbsp;&nbsp;2 ~3 cloves of garlic (finely chopped or minced\/grated)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>l&nbsp;&nbsp;1 egg yolk (beaten)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>l&nbsp;&nbsp;50~60ml of cold milk (this can be substituted with red wine if you like)&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>l&nbsp;&nbsp;1\/4 tsp of mace<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>l&nbsp;&nbsp;1\/4 tsp of chilli flakes<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>l&nbsp;&nbsp;5\/6 sprigs of fresh parsley (finely chopped)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>l&nbsp;&nbsp;A small handful of fresh basil leaves (torn into small pieces rather than chopped)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>l&nbsp;&nbsp;20 grams of finely grated Pecorino cheese&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>l&nbsp;&nbsp;20 grams of finely grated Parmigiano cheese<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>l&nbsp;&nbsp;35~40 grams of finely grated\/blended breadcrumbs (a very old French baguette is perfect)&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>l&nbsp;&nbsp;Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Vegetables to be stuffed<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>2 largish aubergines (cut into halves with pulp removed and put to one side)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>5~6 smallish green peppers (kept whole with only the top removed to take out the seeds)&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>9~10 button mushrooms (with stalks removed)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(You can use other vegetables such as courgettes\/zucchini or a head of celery and if I had had them at hand I would have used them, but unfortunately I didn\u2019t).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Additional ingredients<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u00d8&nbsp;&nbsp;2 smallish tomatoes (finely diced&nbsp;\u2013&nbsp;you will sprinkle the tomato over the aubergines)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u00d8&nbsp;&nbsp;Grated pecorino and Parmigiano (for sprinkling over the stuffed aubergines and mushrooms)&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u00d8&nbsp;&nbsp;Olive oil (for drizzling over all the stuffed vegetables)&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u00d8&nbsp;&nbsp;Serves 4 people<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Method<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>1. Prepare the aubergines by first washing them and then trimming the ends off and cutting them in half (lengthways).&nbsp; Scoop out the pulp, lightly sprinkle salt on the aubergines to prevent them from going brown and then put them to one side for the moment.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>2. Prepare the green peppers by first cutting the tops off them and scooping out the seeds.&nbsp; Save the tops of the peppers as you will fit them back on to the green peppers after you have stuffed them.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>3. Prepare the mushrooms by first wiping them with a piece of kitchen towel or a dry cloth (never wash mushrooms) and then ease out the stalks.&nbsp; You have to be careful easing the stalks out from the mushrooms as mushrooms are quite fragile.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>4. Drizzle some olive oil into a pan and when the oil gets hot add in the aubergine pulp, parsley, celery, garlic and onion.&nbsp; Sautee until the aubergine pulp is tender to the touch. This should only take two or three minutes.&nbsp; Then, take the pan off the heat and put to one side to cool down a little.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>5. Put the mincemeat and all the remaining ingredients into a mixing bowl and then add in the sauteed aubergine pulp, parsley, celery, garlic and onion.&nbsp; Mix together gently but well and then you are ready to stuff your prepared vegetables.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>6. At this stage preheat the oven at 190\/200C (fan oven 170~180)~365~375F.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>7. Before stuffing the vegetables you will need to do a seasoning test.&nbsp; Take a small amount of stuffing mixture from the bowl and place it in the same pan you sauteed the aubergine and other ingredients in and fry until cooked.&nbsp; Taste it and if you need to add in more seasoning (salt and pepper) then do so at this stage.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>8. Arrange all the vegetables on a large plate and stuff all of them with the sausage mix.&nbsp; Put some of the diced tomato over the top of the aubergines and sprinkle with some grated pecorino and Parmigiano cheese; also, make sure you sprinkle a bit of cheese on top of the mushrooms and place the tops back on to the green peppers. &nbsp;Place a small amount of olive oil into a baking tray and arrange the vegetables in the tray.&nbsp; Before putting the tray of stuffed vegetables into the hot oven drizzle some olive oil over them.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>9. Set you oven timer for 30~35 minutes.&nbsp; You will need to check the stuffed vegetables from time to time.&nbsp; If you notice that they are browning a little too much then place a sheet of tinfoil over them.&nbsp; &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>10. Once cooked, take them out of the oven and serve either hot or cold, they are delicious eaten either way. \u00a0I generally serve some roast potatoes and a green salad with stuffed vegetables, but you can also serve them with rice and other accompanyments.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" src=\"http:\/\/www.alphabendi.com\/wp2021\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/96984F1E-45BB-4CBE-913F-B09533423035-1024x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-761\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.alphabendi.com\/wp2021\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/96984F1E-45BB-4CBE-913F-B09533423035-1024x1024.jpeg 1024w, http:\/\/www.alphabendi.com\/wp2021\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/96984F1E-45BB-4CBE-913F-B09533423035-300x300.jpeg 300w, http:\/\/www.alphabendi.com\/wp2021\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/96984F1E-45BB-4CBE-913F-B09533423035-150x150.jpeg 150w, 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src=\"http:\/\/www.alphabendi.com\/wp2021\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/32DB8B56-9F03-405B-A750-3DC115ED779B-1024x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-763\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.alphabendi.com\/wp2021\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/32DB8B56-9F03-405B-A750-3DC115ED779B-1024x1024.jpeg 1024w, http:\/\/www.alphabendi.com\/wp2021\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/32DB8B56-9F03-405B-A750-3DC115ED779B-300x300.jpeg 300w, http:\/\/www.alphabendi.com\/wp2021\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/32DB8B56-9F03-405B-A750-3DC115ED779B-150x150.jpeg 150w, http:\/\/www.alphabendi.com\/wp2021\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/32DB8B56-9F03-405B-A750-3DC115ED779B-768x768.jpeg 768w, http:\/\/www.alphabendi.com\/wp2021\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/32DB8B56-9F03-405B-A750-3DC115ED779B-1536x1536.jpeg 1536w, http:\/\/www.alphabendi.com\/wp2021\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/32DB8B56-9F03-405B-A750-3DC115ED779B-850x850.jpeg 850w, 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well&#8230;.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-755","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-stephens-corner"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.alphabendi.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/755","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.alphabendi.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.alphabendi.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.alphabendi.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.alphabendi.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=755"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/www.alphabendi.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/755\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":764,"href":"http:\/\/www.alphabendi.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/755\/revisions\/764"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.alphabendi.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=755"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.alphabendi.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=755"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.alphabendi.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=755"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}