Stuffed Eggplant

original recipe to come
"Book III (Lean Dishes) from Terence Scully's translation of "The Opera of Bartolomeo Scappi" (1570)

Stuffed Eggplant:

Peel Eggplant (he suggest boiling them will make this task easier, I don't think it does but it does result in making them easier to peel with less waste)
Cut off the tops and hollow out the eggplant
Beat the flesh with knives (sure, why not, it works) along with aromatic herbs (I threw in some parsley, basil, marjoram and oregano), ground walnuts and almonds (I added enough to coat the eggplant guts which made them appear mealy), a little grated bread (just kinda holds it all together a bit), pepper, cloves, cinnamon, a couple of ground garlic cloves, a splash of verjuice (my verjuice made no difference so threw in a little vinegar with it) and a splash of oil.
Stuff the eggplant through the tops and set them in a pot that will hold them upright and can be covered.
In the saucepan, fill up with water and some oil until it reaches half way up the eggplants, also throw in some of the same spices used earlier
cover and boil gently
when they are almost done (which confused me as they were tender almost from the get go), add a little grated bread and some of the same beaten herbs into the broth (Scappi suggests that it should taste bitter, spicy and tangy)
Serve these hot with the broth over them
(alt: these can be oven baked and can be served by cutting them in two with the insides scooped out)

(didn't care for it, but then I don't care for Eggplant in general... just willing to give it yet another try)

NOTE: I ended up serving the broth created in the pot in which I cooked them but wonder if a cleaner broth would have been used.

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