If you follow this blog, you will be already familiar with sofficini, as I have already published a Ham and Cheese Sofficini recipe and a Mushroom Sofficini recipe a while ago.  For all the others who still do not know them, sofficini are delicious pockets of crunchy (yet soft) dough filled with all sorts of scrumptious cheesey goodies that are usually sold frozen by a well known brand in Italy.  Italian kids love them and so do I, probably because I have eaten quite a few while growing up.  Mushroom and Eggplant were among my most favourite flavours and, as I cannot find them in Australia, I am now making them at home and today I will share with you the recipe for eggplant and mozzarella filled sofficini.  This is a very Mediterranean filling which definitely reminds me of my summers in Sicily, and it tastes so good!  I always make extra sofficini and freeze them, so I have them ready whenever I need a quick lunch or dinner.  This is some of my favourite comfort food!  Enjoy and buon appetito!

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Eggplant Sofficini

A tutorial on how to make Eggplant Sofficini: delicious pockets of crunchy dough filled with eggplant, tomatoes and stretchy mozzarella!

Course Appetiser, Main

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 1 hour

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Servings 8 -10

Author Manuela Zangara

Ingredients

Dough

• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup flour sifted
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tsp salt

Filling

• 1 eggplant cubed into 1 ½ cm - ½ inch cubes
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 garlic clove
• 8 tbsp tomato purée
• 150 gms – 5 oz. bocconcini or fresh mozzarella chopped
• ½ tsp oregano not in the photo
• Salt & Pepper

Coating

• 1 egg
• Breadcrumbs to coat

Instructions

Filling

1. Sauté the garlic clove in a pan with the extra virgin olive oil.
2. Add the cubed eggplant and fry it off for 2 or 3 minutes.
3. Add the tomato purée, oregano and season with salt and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes, then put the fire off and let it cool down completely.
   

Dough

1. Put the milk, butter and salt in a pot and put it on the fire. As soon as it boils, put the fire off and add the sifted flour. Mix well with a wooden spoon until well combined. You will obtain a pliable dough.
   
2. As soon as the dough is safe to handle with your hands, put it on a lightly floured surface and knead it until smooth and soft.
   
3. Make a ball and wrap it in cling wrap. Let it rest at room temperature until completely cool.
   

Assembling and Coating

1. Now roll the dough into a 3mm – 0.12 inches thick sheet. Do it on a sheet of baking paper, to make sure it does not stick. Cut out circles of 13cm – 5 inches in diameter.
   
2. Mix the chopped bocconcini/mozzarella with the eggplant filling.
3. Place some filling in one half of each dough circle, fold the other half over it and seal them well by pressing the edges closed with your fingers.
   
4. Beat the egg in a bowl and add salt to it and put the breadcrumbs in a separate plate.
5. Dip each sofficino in the egg and then coat it well with breadcrumbs, pressing with your palm so the crumbs stick well to it.
   
6. Shallow fry them in warm vegetable oil. Or bake them in a pre-heated oven at 180°C (350°F) for 20 minutes, but spray them with some extra virgin olive oil before baking them.

Recipe Notes

If you don't eat eggs, use a mix of milk and a little flour instead of the egg and then coat them in breadcrumbs.

You can also freeze the sofficini uncooked. Wrap them individually in cling wrap and then put them in a ziploc bag. You can cook them from frozen whenever you want to.

Related Posts:

• Artichoke Sofficini
• Mushroom Sofficini
• HAM AND CHEESE SOFFICINI
• CHICKEN SOFFICINI
• Ham and Cheese Frittata Roll