Hasselback aubergine stuffed with pesto, tomato and mozzarella

Beautiful hasselback aubergine stuffed with fragrant pesto, gooey mozzarella, and ripe tomato – a showstopping vegetarian centrepiece!

Ever since the success of the hedgehog potatoes (aka hasselback potatoes) I’ve been wondering what other foods could be given a similar treatment. Basically sliced almost-all-the-way-through and baked/roasted. 

Aubergine reminiscences

I was reminiscing about a dish an old flatmate used to make which consisted of slices of aubergine (aka eggplant), interleaved with tomato and basil and baked. It occurred to me that this was something that could be combined with a not-quite-sliced-right-through hasselback aubergine to give something both beautiful and delicious!

I substituted pesto for the basil leaves, and once I’d added the sliced tomato it seemed foolish not to pop in some mozzarella too. It was a matter of moments to assemble, into the oven, and bosh!

Cheesy, gooey, delicious hasselback aubergine!

Constant improvement

Unfortunately, the first attempt at a stuffed hasselback aubergine fell slightly short of perfection. My daughter Kipper said that it needed more pesto. I said more cheese. DH said more everything. There was nothing for it but to make hasselback aubergine again, only better.

Second time around, I sliced the aubergines thinner so the stuffing-to-aubergine ratio was improved. I used more pesto, and more cheese, and brushed everything with more olive oil. I also baked the assembled hasselback aubergines for longer. 

Aubergine success!

And what a result! Delicious, tender, basil-scented stuffed hasselback aubergines oozing with gooey, crispy, mozzarella. A showstopper of a dish that looked and tasted fantastic.

Kipper and DH agreed. They urged me to make it again. I will!

Hasselback aubergine – a vegetarian feast!

This hasselback aubergine would be a terrific ‘vegetarian alternative’ for a festive family meal, because as well as looking the business, and tasting terrific, it’s also a doddle to make. I made two stuffed aubergines and the total prep time was about 10 minutes. Once it’s in the oven you can pretty much forget about it. Sit back and enjoy a glass of wine while it does its cheesy, pesto-y, aubergine-y thing in the oven. Then serve to admiring glances and compliments about your culinary skills!

Ingredients in cheesy hasselback aubergine (eggplant)

To make these yummy aubergines yourself, you will simply need:

• Aubergines! (Also called eggplant) – use one medium one per person as a main dish, less for a side dish.
• Basil pesto – readymade from a jar is fine. Just make sure it has a good proportion of basil in it for the best flavour.
• Fresh tomato – totally optional, my daughter Kipper hates it!
• Mozzarella – for gooey melty cheesy deliciousness.
• Olive oil – everything’s better with a splash of evoo, right?

Hasselback aubergine – Make it your own

As you can see in the photos I only put tomato in one of our hasselback aubergines, as Kipper refuses to eat tomato. (I can’t really complain, she’ll eat just about anything else.) You are of course at liberty to use the tomato or not, according to your own preference.

You might also like to try adding other things into the slots in the aubergine too – fresh basil or other herbs, sliced olives, sun-dried tomatoes… be as creative as you like!

Make one medium hasselback aubergine per person. It will make them happy!

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📖 Recipe

Hassleback aubergine stuffed with tomato, pesto & mozzarella

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Beautiful aubergines stuffed with fragrant pesto, gooey mozzarella, & ripe tomato – a showstopping vegetarian centrepiece!

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine European, Vegetarian

Servings 2

Calories 475 kcal

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

• 1 medium aubergine
• 2-3 tablespoon basil pesto
• 1 medium tomato
• 150 g ball of mozzarella cheese
• 2-3 tablespoon olive oil

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).
• 1 medium aubergine
  Slice the aubergine almost all the way through, leaving the slices connected at the bottom. I find that the easiest way to do this is to place a chopstick on either side of the aubergine and cut through until the knife hits the chopsticks. The slices should be around 7-8mm (approx. ¼ inch) thick.
• 2-3 tbsp basil pesto
  Spread some pesto into each cut, using the back of a spoon or a butter knife to spread it over the cut surfaces.
• 1 medium tomato
  Thinly slice the tomato, and insert a slice into each cut.
• 150 g (5 2/7 oz) ball of mozzarella cheese
  Cut the mozzarella in half lengthwise, then slice thinly. Place one or two pieces into each cut in the aubergine, alongside the tomato slices.
• 2-3 tbsp olive oil
  The aubergine will have opened out into a curved shape to accommodate the filling. Brush the whole thing with olive oil and place in a snug ovenproof baking dish.
• Bake at 180°C (350°F) for about an hour, until thoroughly cooked and browning all over. Serve at once.

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Hassleback aubergine stuffed with tomato, pesto & mozzarella

Amount per Serving

Calories

475

% Daily Value*

Fat

 

37

g

57

%

Saturated Fat

 

13

g

81

%

Polyunsaturated Fat

 

2

g

Monounsaturated Fat

 

15

g

Cholesterol

 

60

mg

20

%

Sodium

 

618

mg

27

%

Potassium

 

727

mg

21

%

Carbohydrates

 

19

g

6

%

Fiber

 

8

g

33

%

Sugar

 

11

g

12

%

Protein

 

20

g

40

%

Vitamin A

 

1374

IU

27

%

Vitamin C

 

13

mg

16

%

Calcium

 

430

mg

43

%

Iron

 

1

mg

6

%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Keyword aubergine, cheese, eggplant, tomato

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