Baked Stuffed Vegetables

Italians will stuff just about any vegetable with either bread or meat, and stuffed vegetables are a favorite all along the Italian peninsula. A platter of baked stuffed vegetables is one of those delights that you see in many restaurants as you travel around Italy, but the array is never exactly the same, with vegetable favorites varying from region to region. There are many ways to stuff an Italian vegetable, but this recipe is one of my favorites. Here I give you this delicious and easy bread stuffing, along with procedures for preparing and baking a few of the most typical vegetables—bell peppers, mushrooms, sweet onions, tomatoes, and zucchini. I’ve kept the amount of vegetables loose, so you can make as many as you want and you can change the vegetables according to season, becoming a new recipe every time – quick, easy and delicious. Perfect for a spring party or family get together. Buon Gusto!
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Stuffed Vegetables

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[Music] You Know Italians love their vegetables  and they love stuffing them and any vegetables   will do, whatever is in season – whatever  you have more of, you follow this recipe. So,   here we begin with eggplant and I want to make  two vessels for the stuffing itself uh this is  

A regular measuring spoon one teaspoon and I’m  going to fish out the the meaty part kind of   create a little container if you will the inside  of the eggplant I’m just going to chop it up and  

Add it to the stuffing then go to the peppers  the peppers are easy they’re like a a little   boat just kind of cut that out and you leave  the the stem could be nice it sort of seals  

It and it makes makes it look like a little  vessel if you will and we’ll do the zucchini   but let’s cut it this way so I get a better  visual of the containers one two I think like

This okay and and you don’t have to dig too  deep because you know the vegetables when   they cook they sort of mellow out this is plenty  let’s clean the onions like that that will be a

Vessel and dig this out and I’m looking inside  there’s a little hole in both of them so I’m   going to kind of patch up that hole here I put a  little piece right in there so it kind of closes  

The bottom okay so here I have day old bread and  I have soaked it you can do it in a vegetable soup   or you can do it in a meat stock but the idea is  we need to kind of now get all the extra water out  

And you kind of crumble you crumble the bread  this is fun you can bring your kids into doing   this and you know it’s uh really kind of the feel  uh element in cooking okay so here we are we have  

All the bread done then continue with the stuffing  the eggplant the little pieces of eggplant we’re   going to utilize that’s it eggs eggs of course  are always the binder of a stuffing just like   that scallions chopped scallion the green part too  some chopped thy to give it this kind of herbal  

Feel parsley lots of parsley lots of grated cheese  and for a real kind of good flavor cheesy flavor   proon and kind of shred it just like that okay  let’s give it a good mix and it’s all vegetarian  

So this is a great meal for your vegetarian  friends so let me kind of really get in there   and make my stuffing I’m going to put a little bit  of salt not too much just like that ground [Music]

Pepper okay now let me get the vegetables  ready and the vegetable salt and a little   bit of oil just to kind of dress them there  we go so the vegetables are ready I have the   stuffing ready a baking pan like this with some  parchment and I always like to use parchment when  

I bait things because it doesn’t stick to the  pan and I don’t have to clean as much so we’ll   begin with the eggplant and don’t over stuff it  just like that what my thought is here that the  

Vegetables that take longer to cook I’m going  to put together on the same baking pan so that   if I have to cook them a little longer at least  Le they together the onions you know the onions  

Do take a while to bake and as you notice I go in  lightly I don’t stuff them let me put them in the [Music] middle the peppers and again get the  kids involved in this this kind of fun these  

Peppers are so delicious they’re sweet you know  the peppers is like roasted peppers and imagine   with a nice cheesy stuffing you know good  stuff let’s see I have one more pepper no   that’s a zucchini okay I’ll put the zucchini and  the zucchini goes here and another zucchini goes  

Here I am just going to finish this stuffing up  here cover it with foil paper put it in a hot 400°   uh oven for about 20 25 minutes you uncover it and  cook it for another 30 minutes until it’s nice and  

Crisp it also depends you know on the size of  your vegetables how long they’re going to cook   and here we go with the cheese everybody a little  bit of cheese just like that shredded bralon on

Top when you do put the foil paper on top make  a tint do not let let the foiled paper touch   the vegetables because they will stick to it okay  all set good to the last drop wash my hands I’ll  

Tent them put them in the oven and and you know I  love serving them hot if you will right out of the   oven for a meal it’s great but I love them also  at room temperature why not cremona is a jewel  

City in Lumber uh not very touristic but it has  a beautiful d a Patza and if you walk through the   tight streets of Crona and you kind of hear this  violin voice uh floating in the air and you kind  

Of peek into a window you most likely will see AO  and that is a violin maker and fixer working on a   violin or a viola beautiful setting really really  artistic but in this city also there’s an artistic  

Food element in it and that’s the proon I got  an opportunity to go visit the plant and took   me through the whole process of the making of the  prolon so of course this big baths of cow’s milk  

100% cow’s milk brought to temperature rened is  at it it coagulates and so this this kind of curvs   of cheese begins to form then they’re shaped  and into a square big big Square kind of and  

Then cut into pieces and once it’s cut into pieces  with the addition of some hot water it is kneaded   into one big mass then they dip it in a salted  solution so that it absorbs some of the salt and  

Flavors and then they hang it up to dry covering  it with a light coating of wax so that keeps the   moisture in the cheese and keeps the cheese very  flaky uh a a long process but a delicious result  

The stuffed vegetables are done but just let me  test them a little bit the eggplant which is the   big one nice and soft and tender it’s cooked the  onion nice and tender so I’m looking at this and  

I think I’m going to follow the plate maybe make  a frame out of the most colorful ones and then   the center I will stuff with the most plentiful  ones so the zucchini right here so this is the  

Time for you to be the artist the creative you  know so now I have these beautiful colorful ones   what am I going to do I’m going to make just  put them in the corners how do you like that  

And eggplant let’s put it here make should we put  yes an onion between the eggplant that looks nice   another eggplant right here that looks great  let’s start on that side an eggplant an onion   another eggplant another onion right here maybe  a neck plant for Lydia that sounds good you know  

What I’m going to do I want to taste an onion  too so I’m going to swap an onion for Lydia and   a neck plant here and again hot on the table as  an appetizer or just a groom temperature and even  

If you have a Great Buffet these are great for the  buffet table so let me taste let’s start with the eggplant piece of eggplant M soft  tender sweet and it’s really mellow   and delightful let’s try the [Music]  pepperon there’s an old Italian proverb  

Cina paza Grande a small kitchen can make  a house really big even in a small kitchen   you can prepare Grand things to feed your  family and friends so I’m going to finish   this plate but certainly there’s enough  for all of us and I want to invite you

To to learn more about Lydia access  to videos and to get recipes tips   techniques and much more visit us  online at lias italy.com [Music]